• ProfessorOwl_PhD [any]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I can’t remember for the life of me where I read it, but I remember reading a kinda sci-fi/fantasyish novel in my teens that had universal ai controlled cars, and the main character asked how they didn’t get into accidents sometimes and the other characters were like “are you stupid? It’s one centralised ai controlling them all” and that stuck with me as an obvious requirement for driverless cars.

    Anyway I don’t think any current driverless car creators read that book.

    • FALGSConaut [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      che-no driverless cars coordinated and controlled from a single central source to ensure smooth operation and maximum efficiency

      che-si each car individually controlled by competing ai each trying to reduce their transit time at the expense of the other AI operated cars

      • FALGSConaut [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Trains are to transit evolution as crabs are to biological evolution. If you actually try to improve efficiency in any transit system you’ll inevitably reinvent trains.

        It’s still funny that these car-brained tech bros can’t go beyond individual cars controlled independently even when faced with both the obvious downsides and inefficiencies as well as clear ways to improve car based transit.

      • Flyberius [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Some sort if hybrid system would be great. Knowing that there are no cars on the intersection you plan to cross would save a lot of time with slowing down to check. Equally, having on board systems to slam on the anchors because someone is in the road or whatever would be a requirement.

        • Waymos as it stands are very good at not crashing. Humans are very bad drivers and frequently hit things, the waymos have been good at not doing that with whatever system they are using now. Obviously there are a few kinks, but it’s not enough to discard the technology. A self driving car is better than a human driven one, but it’s still a car.

    • TurtleTourParty@midwest.social
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      3 months ago

      In Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer there are people artificially enhanced into supercomputers that control the world’s network of flying cars.

    • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      Anyway I don’t think any current driverless car creators read that book.

      Even if they did they’d get a very blue curtained takeaway like “THAT CYBERCHICK WAS HAWT” or the like, then make “the truck that Blade Runner would drive.” my-hero