Driverless Radio

In this episode, Robert and Zaira discuss recent self-driving marketing campaigns and opposition to that technology by teamsters and unions. We also talked about the difference between the terms self-driving and driverless (hint: they are the same thing).  This was the first episode filmed on Facebook Live.

We also changed our recording and audio editing techniques in order to deliver a more natural show. We are trying our best to deliver the best quality audio and hope that we get a little better with each episode.  Thank you.

We start this show by discussing a letter that the Consumer Union wrote to Congress in opposition of The SELF DRIVE Act. Although the letter made some good points, we think that it is really an effort to save jobs. We then reviewed the recent Intel commercial featuring Lebron James and a series of commercials by Waymo. While the Lebron commercial relied on name recognition and status, the Waymo commercials appealed more to everyday people. In our opinion, they were more impactful and invoked sympathy for busy families, the blind, elderly, and other disabled individuals. Well done Waymo.

So what is the difference between the terms driverless and self-driving? Really, they are the same thing and both refer to a high level of automation. We think that the main reason why self-driving is used more often is because most of our laws and regulations are written around the responsibilities of the driver. In order to ensure that that responsibility is transferred from individuals to the car manufacturers, we will likely continue to see the use of self-driving to stick responsibility on the car companies. This personification of autonomous cars is very interesting and will probably lead to a whole entire episode about agency and in the future. But we aren't' changing our podcast name; we prefer Driverless.

This episode sponsored by:

SolanoFirm.com or (404) 835-2626

 

In this episode, Robert and Zaira discuss the SELF DRIVE Act as well as various other pending state rules and regulations in California and New Hampshire. In September 2017, the House of Representatives passed "The Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution Act", H. R. 3388 (The SELF DRIVE Act for short). This bill establishes the federal government's role in providing safety measures for driverless cars. Among other things, it allows for driverless car manufacturers to apply for an exemption to federal motor vehicle safety standards.  The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously and received bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. The bill then went to the Senate for approval. It passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and is now awaiting approval from the entire chamber.  If it passes the Senate, it will then go to the President for approval to become a law.

Similarly, states like California and New Hampshire are also considering driverless and self-driving regulations.

In this episode, Robert and Zaira review Blade Runner 2049, a movie that is loosely based on the book by Phillip Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the opening scene of the movie, Ryan Gosling's character, KD9-3.7 ('K' for short), is sleeping in his flying car when the autonomous system wakes him up as they approach their destination. This is a sign that cars in the future will not only be self-driving but will also FLY! Continue reading for a detailed analysis of the movie by Robert [SPOILER ALERT]...

Note: This review has nothing to do with driverless cars.

The main premise of this movie is whether or not androids—humanoid computer systems, aka replicants—experience emotions and have a soul. Arguably, the title of the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is somewhat synonymous with the question, "can androids have a soul?"

There were at least two unique odes to Phillip Dick's novel in the movie. First was a scene which showed a sheep origami, and then another scene in which K plays the notes to Mary Had a Little Lamb on a piano. The final key to the song, a song about baby sheep, reveals a clue. This clue is a small horse, which K dreams about throughout the movie. In other words, the sheep is replaced by a horse and the key to finding a baby human-android is hidden behind a song about a baby sheep. The artistic depth of these few scenes is exceptional. But they still do not answer the question about androids having souls.

Certain scenes of the movie would lead you to believe that these very advanced computer systems have developed souls. For example, in the opening scene, an android tells K that he witnessed a miracle, the birth of a human/android child. Later, we learn about the loving relationship between K and his holographic female companion (apparently women are still objectified in the future). And finally, we learn about K's desire to be human and disappointment when he finds out that he is not. On the surface, the emotions of these androids appear uniquely human. Which provides a compelling argument that they do in fact have souls.

However, ample material from the movie indicates that the androids are operating on predetermined programs. For example, K's holographic lover (played exceptionally well by Ana de Armas), wants to call K, "Joey". This gesture seems genuine at first until you learn that her model 's name is Joi and that she apparently lacks the ability to be original. Later in the movie, we also learn that K's memories and dreams are actually the memories of his programmer. This evidence would lead a viewer to believe that these android replicants do not have souls, only programmed thoughts and behavior.

Above all else, the key to understanding this movie is to examine the scene where Harrison Ford's character, Deckard, meets a replicant of his former android lover. In this scene, we learn that Deckard's lover was designed specifically to seduce him in an attempt to produce a replicant child. Deckard's behavior was easily predicted and he fell in love with a replicant.

Blade Runner 2049 isn't actually about whether or not androids can have souls; it is about whether or not humans have souls. Just as the androids are programmed with certain behavior, similarly,  humans are programmed with certain behaviors. One is programmed by humans, while the other is programmed by millions of years of evolution.  The movie is an examination about what it means to be human and how much freedom we actually have from our organic programming. Are our dreams actually our own, or are they a result of our biological programming and environment?

Maybe I will write a book title Do Humans Dream of Driverless Cars?

In this episode of Driverless Radio, Robert and Zaira discuss trust in autonomous vehicles.  A vehicle is a device that transports people or goods from one place to another and based on this definition, many of us ride in autonomous vehicles every day. Although they are commonplace, elevators, escalators,  and light trains are already fully autonomous....We often ride them without thinking twice about it. What will it take for passengers and society to develop the same level of trust in fully autonomous cars?

Although we use terms such as driverless or self-driving to describe future autonomous systems, most cars already have a certain degree of automation. These levels of automation can be described as levels 0 through 5.

* Level 0: No automation

* Level 1: Driver Assistance (basic cruise control)

* Level 2: Partial Automation (advanced cruise control systems that stay in lane and identify other cars or obstacles)

* Level 3: Conditional Automation (such as current Tesla vehicles)

* Level 4: High Automation (experimental cars such as Waymo, General Motors, Uber, etc.)

* Level 5: Full Automation (experimental cars)

In this episode, Robert and Zaira also interview Robert's parents, Vic and Dot. They discuss their experiences with elevators in the 1950s and also give their opinions about future driverless cars. Vic, an old NYC taxi cab driver, says that driverless cars can never replace human taxi cab drivers. While Dot, someone that has never driven her entire life, is more willing to give it a try.

On September 12, 2017, the Department of Transportation (DOT) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published "Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety." Robert and Zaira Solano discuss this non-regulatory guidance. They discuss car accidents that they were in and imagine how a self-driving car would respond in similar situations.

In the first episode of Driverless, Robert and Zaira Solano imagine a future with self-driving cars. Will these vehicles return more time to commuters so that they can be more productive, or will consumers use their extra time to watch Netflix and browse Facebook? Furthermore, some advocates claim that self-driving cars will usher in a new era of safety on our roadways. While others fear that driverless cars will cause another recession as hundreds of thousands of taxi cab drivers, truckers, and delivery men and women become unemployed. How will this technology change society? It is still too early to tell for sure, but it is inevitable that increased automation is arriving soon.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride on this FIRST episode of Driverless.