Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ar...nd/497801/

Quote: A more slippery existential problem is that new ways for driverless cars to communicate with pedestrians will only work if people respond to them. But getting people to respond to a new kind of design signal—just getting them to understand it in the first place—is iffy at best.

“People hate ambiguity and unpredictability,” said Chris Rockwell, the CEO and founder of Lextant, a design consulting firm. “I don’t care if it’s your toaster or your car; if you’re confused, you’re not having a great experience. And if it acts in strange or unpredictable ways, it’s not acceptable.”

Self driving cars will be held to a much higher standard I am thinking, partly because of distrust of the new technology, and conversely because we have expectations of near infallibility from high tech machines. What needs to be emphasized from the start is that humans are slow to change and often make judgements on erroneous data. They will rely on past experience and many persons are unable to make accurate judgement because of impairment by substance abuse, both legal and nonlegal.

It matters not, the machine will be blamed in all cases of injury or death until the data is very clearly sorted to make the case of where the error lies. Even then, we are a species given to blaming and are reluctant to accept accountability.

I expect that those who are progressive in thinking and observant in daily action will embrace the driverless vehicle while there are many others who will be inattentive and fearful of this new development.

Quote:Nearly 5,000 pedestrians were killed by cars in 2014 in the United States alone, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Driverless cars—with their famously sterling safety records—may be able to reduce those statistics significantly. Still, about half of the pedestrian deaths in the 10-year period ending with 2014 occurred because the pedestrian ran into the road, failed to yield to a vehicle with the right of way, or otherwise crossed the street improperly, the Duke researchers said. Even the best-programmed autonomous cars will be unable to prevent every pedestrian death unless those vehicles can find a way to prompt safer pedestrian behaviors. In other words, with self-driving cars facing a critical test period for the public’s trust, the status quo isn’t going to be good enough.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ar...nd/497801/