pic: Google Streetview driver autograph

[Aren Siekmeier]

Originally Posted by JesseK

The ... driving.

You definitely raise valid concerns about software's potential shortcomings. I agree that we probably shouldn't make any quick move towards fully automating something like driving (especially when there are others humans on the road, whom we certainly can't expect software to be able to predict). I was mostly pointing out that the blind protection of jobs for the sake of keeping employment up and not displacing people tends to be counter productive.

However I also agree that (from the little I have read about AirFrance 447 from your posts and elsewhere) the AirFrance 447 situation isn't exactly relevant. It seems to only be a case of the pilots not communicating. They weren't aware, as they certainly should have been, that the two sticks could be in different positions. And they didn't communicate their differing intents. And yes, secondary to those problems, the software took the average, which certainly didn't help the situation, but it's hard to perfectly handle the edge case of getting two very different inputs.