Our self-driving future: Unanticipated consequences of vehicle automation, robots, and "semi-autonomy"

macchiaz-o

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Sean Carroll discusses car autonomy with Jason Torchinsky on this episode of the Mindscape podcast:

https://www.preposterousuniverse.co...-jason-torchinsky-on-our-self-driving-future/

It's easy to foresee that technological progress will change how we live; it's much harder to anticipate exactly how. Self-driving cars represent an enormous technological challenge, but one that is plausibly on the way to being solved. What will be the unanticipated consequences when autonomous vehicles become commonplace? Jason Torchinsky is a fan technology, but also a fan of driving, and his recent book Robot, Take the VWheel examines how our relationship with cars is likely to change in the near future.
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FredT

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timbop

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great find, thanks!
 


ChasingCoral

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That was fantastic. Thanks! My takeaway: 1. if you're a car enthusiast, why would you be interested in self-driving cars,
There's a difference between having a car that is always self-driving and one that has it as an option. I can certainly see that much of the time I'll be enjoying driving a Mustang. However, there are other times that I would love for the Mach E to do most of the driving tasks, such as long drives.
 

ChasingCoral

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Mach-E VLOG

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The video was very interesting. I took a look at the YouTube comments and a lot of Tesla owners are upset and pointing out discrepancies in the video. They say the example where car blows through the stop sign is misleading because the screen shows the car wasn't on AutoPilot.

I don't have much experience using AutoPilot - I only tried it a little bit on a Model Y test drive last month. I've also been trying to research to see how good it really is and how the Mach-E might compare.

For Tesla, it is really hard to get unbiased info. The Tesla fans are super fans and attack any Tesla criticisms. They are also dismissive of anything not Tesla and usually citing the claim that they will have Full Self Driving soon and are years ahead of any other manufacturer.

Reports like this lead me to believe that Tesla and its fans have greatly exaggerated the capabilities Tesla has. I'm anxious to see the Mach-E ADAS info and reviews.
 

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For Tesla, it is really hard to get unbiased info. The Tesla fans are super fans and attack any Tesla criticisms. They are also dismissive of anything not Tesla and usually citing the claim that they will have Full Self Driving soon and are years ahead of any other manufacturer.

Reports like this lead me to believe that Tesla and its fans have greatly exaggerated the capabilities Tesla has. I'm anxious to see the Mach-E ADAS info and reviews.
I don't know what the proportion is, but there is definitely a subgroup of Tesla "fans" that is essentially a personality cult - with a level of delusional paranoia that is disconcerting. I suspect they are very much a minority, but a very vocal one.

After spending a short amount of time on a Tesla forum it was such a turnoff it swayed me back toward the Mach E when I was leaning toward the better value of a model 3. Despite the fact that I could lease a model 3 LR AWD for less than the options plan of a SR RWD MME, I just don't want to be associated with the stereotype of a Tesla fanboy. I also don't trust how much Tesla stands behind their cars when there are problems because I know the reviews and ratings are tainted by them.
 

agoldman

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I drove a Y with that $8000 feature, and in my opnion it requires too much second guessing and therefore too much attention and produces anxiety which cancels out any benefit. I'd probably pay not to have it. I guess they need to charge that much per unit because most people won't bother with it at that price.
 

ncmagus

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Sure, my current car (jeep, 2015) never said they were fully automated, but i had to desactivate the "forward collision braking" because it was obviously not ready yet. When a car turn right, you know you don't have to break because the path will be clear in a second, but the car doesn't and he want to brake hard. (which mean i brake suddenly for no apparent reason, possible accident if someone was following me)
Before spending 8k on a specific feature that could actually hurt me, i'm gonna need a lot of proof (like i'm driving the car, and it just tell me what it would have done, for a year!)
 

Kamuelaflyer

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I drove a Y with that $8000 feature, and in my opnion it requires too much second guessing and therefore too much attention and produces anxiety which cancels out any benefit. I'd probably pay not to have it. I guess they need to charge that much per unit because most people won't bother with it at that price.
One of the most exhausting jobs in flying an airliner is monitoring the autopilot in a full autoland as part of a near zero visibility landing. You have to watch every little thing so as to disconnect at the slightest hiccup in the process. I see tesla's "autopilot" as much the same. Is it going to stop? Why is it braking so hard? I'll revert to my flying habit pattern: when in doubt turn all the magic off and just fly drive.
 
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GoGoGadgetMachE

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I don't know what the proportion is, but there is definitely a subgroup of Tesla "fans" that is essentially a personality cult - with a level of delusional paranoia that is disconcerting. I suspect they are very much a minority, but a very vocal one.
stolen from a Twitter friend
Ford Mustang Mach-E Our self-driving future: Unanticipated consequences of vehicle automation, robots, and "semi-autonomy" EZkzkCCUYAEYDw0
 

1pt21Gigawatts

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Thatā€™s one of the main reasons Iā€™m buying the mustang, electrification is only a means to an end for autonomous driving, I like driving and this is the drivers electric car. Itā€™s a very brief period of opportunity to not get a fully connected autonomous vehicle while also getting a fun electric.

Thereā€˜s a reason that Tesla doesnā€™t bother with nice driving dynamics, AVā€™s canā€™t take advantage of them because they drive like a bus driven by your grandma. Itā€™s a lame public-transportatio-equivalent future coming with AVā€™s and I want no part of it. Talk about freedom, my mustang might not be able to drive more than 200mi on a charge without stopping for an hour but at least itā€™s a driverā€™s machine while itā€™s going
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