Source: usatoday.com
Looks like self-driving trucks are coming to us sooner than you think. Technologists promise a new advantage in by removing the driver which is a major cost of the trucking business. Many truckers are okay with this but are not super convinced that a computer can do everything. Many of them say they could spend more time with their loved ones but also are unsure of how well it would work.
Analysis:
I get why people would think this is a good idea, but in my opinion it is not. It is not safe, you cannot rely on a sensor to sense if the truck is going to crash or hit someone. As we all know technology is not always reliable. Also, if something with the computer in the truck crashes will the truckers have the knowledge to fix it or how will that work? Personally, I would not want to be driving near these self-driving trucks.
Questions:
Do you guys think this is a good idea?
How well do you think this will turn out?
13 comments:
I can understand how the whole self driving car/truck idea would be beneficial, but at the same time I do not think it is safe. Recently a self driving Uber killed a women in Arizona, so personally I do not feel safe being around any self driving car. what's even worse is that, a self driving truck would do more damage due to its size. I think there needs to be more test runs before any self driving vehicle makes its way onto the road.
I agree with you in the fact that self truck driving is not safe. When a truck makes a turn, the driver has to be very careful with their surroundings; this is something that requires skill and precision. I do not believe that self-driving trucks are programmed to operate at that high of a skill level. Furthermore, the Arizona self driving incident highlights the dangers of autonomous driving. Many people should not immediately lean towards self driving vehicles as there are still many things that needs to be improved until it is truly safe. In my opinion, I feel like it will be a disaster first, but over time, it will generally improve.
The trucking industry provides around 3.5 million jobs to people across the USA, according to truckinfo.net. Consequently, replacing humans with robots in this industry would leave many jobless. The job may be mundane, but a human driver will likely have better reactions and judgment than a robot will in the near future. A good example of this is in the movie Logan, where about a quarter of the movie wouldn't have taken place if the main characters weren't involved in an accident with a self-driving truck that couldn't make a good decision. If self-driving cars are ever proven to have safer driving and decision making than humans, only then will human drivers be replaced.
I agree with Josh on this one, specifically his point on the fact that over 1% of the entire population is a part of the trucking industry, making it the largest blue-collar profession. Jobs will inevitably be cut if companies decide to automate the teamster industry en masse. Yes, there will be a demand for other professions, but these professions are highly-skilled engineering and technology jobs that usually require 4-year or advanced degrees, not low-skilled professions. At this point, with so many low-skilled jobs becoming either shipped overseas or automated, the trucking industry is one of the last blue-collar professions that low-income Americans can turn to.
I see this as a good step forward in technological progress. While there are millions of truck drivers, the almost 99% of Americans who don't drive trucks will benefit from the reduced cost of any trucked good. While it is unfortunate that millions of jobs will be lost, there will be an overall benefit to everyone as a whole.
For the criticism of driver-less cars, I must note that the AIs killing people is an unlikely happening, that people only know of due to the extended focus of media surrounding AI caused deaths. Also, after every crash, AIs will improve in a way that no human could making this a shot lived threat.
I think that self-driving cars/trucks are good in theory, but in reality they are unsafe and dangerous. They sound good as they are more efficient, reduce costs and allow truckers to spend less time on the road. The only issue is that while technology is good and has advanced our world, there are many problems with technology. Driving is already dangerous, but having a computer control a truck seems even more unsafe. I personally would not want to be driving near a self-driving truck and these trucks travel far distances, so they would be on the road for a long time. Additionally, it would take over many people's jobs.
Based on the data we have on self driving cars right now, it seems that machine learning is more or less around twice as safe as regular human drivers. The average miles per accident is twice as many for self driving cars. There seems to be a general perception that driverless cars are dangerous, when they are actually much safer. I think this is due to the high media coverage that autonomous car accidents draw as compared to the far more common regular car accidents. I personally can't wait for all of the cars in America to be completely driverless.
I agree with Max on the above statement that the truth is, self driving cars are still a lot safer than human drivers, and that the news media sensationalizes autonomous car crashes since they are catchy and seem to confirm people's irrational fears that driverless cars aren't safe. The truth is, if one performed a statistical data analysis to look at data for number of accidents per miles driven, driverless cars would have a much cleaner record than us careless, distractable, frusturatable, fatigable, human drivers. Moreover, driverless trucks might be incredibly useful during inclement weather. While we humans would have difficulty seeing during heavy rainstorms and snowstorms, advanced laser and echolocation technology could allow the sensors on driverless trucks to continue driving even when our eyes couldn't see. Mathematical formulas on the shape and structure of the highway, as well as the amount of friction on wet ground, could allow for precise braking and precise acceleration. Lastly, some worry that autonomous trucks would take away many jobs. The history of the advent of technology, however, has shown that technology tends to make more jobs than it replaces. Engineers, computer scientists, material scientists, psychologists, etc. all need to be hired to design the most efficient autonomous vehicle, competing to provide the best safety and comfort features. One last piece of food for thought. Recently, computer scientists created a program called AlphaGo that could play the Chinese Chess game of go extremely well. When humans taught the computer how to play go, barely any human on Earth could outsmart the final product. But when the computer used machine learning to teach itself how to play go, no human on Earth could outsmart the final product. A human-invented game was ultimately perfected by the computer, and it is time we ought to embrace autonomous-driven vehicles as the future for us.
I'm pretty open to change and see the values of self driving trucks. However, there are many causes of truck accidents, and understanding them can help provide insight on the incidence of road crashes. According to isaacsandisaacs.com, the weight of your average motor vehicle is about 2.5 tons and the weight affects it's stopping distance leading to fatal crashes. Semi-truck accidents cost $20 billion per year in accident settlements. Considering there are monitors in the trucks and a computer that directs them, the technology of self driving cars fascinates me, but I also think humans will have better reaction times then a robot sensor. I would probably be hella cautious when driving next to a self driving truck because we don't know the drawbacks yet, and it's still a relatively new phenomenon. Obviously the technology will improve over time. Right now, there are things to consider before we can allow autonomous driving.
Not only do these trucks have to drive on the highway, but also they are going to have to drive in places that are hilly and snowy, in the most dangerous conditions. Though I may trust self driving trucks on highways, there are some stretches of road that are just too dangerous to have self driving cars. Conditions fluctuate so much that there needs to be a skilled driver behind the wheel to control the truck.
I am not a big fan of the idea of self driving trucks. The conditions that the trucks drive in can be dangerous and unsafe and I wonder how a self driving truck would maneuver itself off the highway. Truck driving also employs several people in the US, particularly men. If self driving trucks were to take over, many people would lose their jobs.
I don't think this is a good idea, but more like a dangerous idea. We can't always trust technology to do what it's suppose to do. there could always be a glitch in the system that could make the truck crash. I also think it's scary how technology will make many people unemployed.
I like the idea of self driving trucks. With that being said though, I think it might be a little early to actually implement them as I think that the current technology isn't completely safe and reliable yet. I may be wrong I'm not too sure how advanced the technology is for self driving cars and trucks but what I've heard is that there are currently some accidents and malfunctions. However, I think that with another year or two, self driving trucks will be a lot safer and reliable and should be put onto the road. As of now though, let's stick to human drivers.
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