Commercial airliners largely fly themselves. And, they have automated anti-collision systems. Most airline accidents are the result of pilot error. Air France 447. "Both Air France and Airbus are facing manslaughter charges, with a judicial investigation led by Paris judges under way." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2790768/f- dead-pilot-shouted-air-france-jet-plunged-atlantic -final-moments-doomed-flight-447-two-sleeping-pilo ts-revealed.html
Cars will drive themselves. I hope that the self-driving scheme will drop out and demand that the driver take over in case the self-driving features cannot cope with the situation. As with train locomotives, I would hope that self-driving cars would have some sort of "dead-man" switch that would keep the driver awake and alert, ready to take over in the event the self-driving car cannot handle the situation. I don't (yet) have much confidence in the self-driving beer truck with the human driver in the back seat. My 2008 Toyota Avalon cruise control uses infra-red to "see" a vehicle ahead, and, if we are overtaking, adjusts the speed to match the vehicle ahead. If we approach too fast, it applies the brakes. If the speed difference is too great, it sounds an alarm. (The cruise control shuts off if raining or sunlight enters the sensor.) Rich From: Ted Eckert [mailto:000007cf6ebeab9d-dmarc-requ...@ieee.org] Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 6:42 AM To: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG Subject: Re: [PSES] Automated vehicles. The ethical decisions regarding self-driving cars are significant and they will extend beyond the vehicle itself. This discussion has brought up the possibility of a day when human-driven cars are banned. Will poor people be banned from driving or owning cars? They may be able to afford a perfectly serviceable 20 year old car, but be prohibited from driving it because it is not automated. Self-driving cars will take a long time to become ubiquitous. What level of modification to a vehicle will allow the manufacturer to shed liability if something goes wrong? Will the manufacturer require the vehicle to immobilize itself if one of the sensors isn't working properly? What happens if a sensor fails while you are driving through the middle of the Outback in Australia, hundreds of kilometers from anywhere? What data will the manufacturer be allowed to collect from your personal vehicle? Things will occasionally go wrong. We know that there are clever lawyers who will find a new avenue to launch law suits. We know that there are politicians eager to please their constituencies that will propose heavy-handed regulations without giving it enough thought. There will be purchasers of self-driving cars who will find ways to bend the rules to their own ends. In other words, humans will be humans. In my opinion, it isn't the robots we should worry about. Ted Eckert Microsoft Corporation The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. I also hope this post does not offend my future robot overlords. If so, expect me to be replaced by a Twitter Bot in the near future. - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <sdoug...@ieee.org> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <j.bac...@ieee.org> David Heald: <dhe...@gmail.com>
