G.M. Unveils Its Driverless Cars, Aiming to Lead the Pack

[FrodosNewPet]

Source: New York Times

By BILL VLASIC | NOV. 29, 2017

~ snip ~

On Thursday, G.M. will demonstrate its growing fleet of computer-operated, battery-powered Chevrolet Bolts in San Francisco to dozens of investment analysts, who are eager to evaluate the automaker’s advanced test vehicles.

The event represents a critical step for G.M. as it seeks to establish leadership in the hotly contested race to bring driverless cars to market.

~ snip ~

To emphasize the company’s progress, Mr. Ammann said the cars would be ready for consumer applications in “quarters, not years.”

~ snip ~

So far, the partnership between G.M. and Cruise has produced about 180 autonomous Bolts, which are constantly being tested in San Francisco, as well as in Arizona and Michigan. The company plans to begin tests in Manhattan early next year.

~ snip ~

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/business/gm-driverless-cars.html

---

1. Are we ready for autonomous vehicles?
2. Are autonomous vehicles ready for us?

Personally, I am torn on the issue. Saving lives is a good thing. Giving mobility to people who cannt drive, and cannot access public transportation for a variety of reasns, is a good thing.

But what is the economic impact of potentially losing millions of jobs? What is the social and psychological impact of making human input a smaller and smaller factor in daily existance?

The movie "The Matrix" got one key thing wrong. Machines will not put us into self contained pods to live virtual lives. We will put ourselves in them.

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. It's all good until a few hundred of these things kill some people.

Then it's "Oops! We goofed!" and it all goes away.

[Ron Green]

2. Theyll really have to go some to kill as many people as

human drivers do.

[RobinA]

3. Presumably

they will have a bit of an advantage because cars don’t drink, but I have a hard time seeing how this will work in the real world.

[FrodosNewPet]

4. 99% of the time, the robocars will drive better than us

It's the remaining 1% that is going to be tough to work out.

[Bragi2]

5. Hello rule by tech behemoths!

I think it's becoming evident that the tech behemoths -- the googles, apples, amazons, the Elon Musk alliance -- are now in control of our future, and other than business goals, they haven't a clue about the impact of their "innovations", and don't intend to stop to find out. Nor do they have any sense of anything even resembling "the public interest" as they calculate our future.

Meanwhile Elon Musk builds tunnels under LA to provide high-speed transportation to the uber rich, without a government or regulator in sight to ask about how this will eventually impact the city and its people.

We are on really on the cusp of rule by tech behemoths, and I see little evidence that anyone will stop them from doing whatever they want to do, as long as they use their own money, which they have in unprecedented, abundant supply.