The video below is long, but thoughtful and riveting. It make the case that just as horses have been replaced by technology, humans are next. If that sounds like silly logic, invest one minute, just to see what you think.
From the narrative:
Self driving cars aren’t the future. They’re here and they work. Self-driving cars have driven hundreds of thousands of miles up and down the California coast and through cities, all without human intervention. The question is not if they’ll replace cars, but how quickly.
They don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be better than us. Human drivers, by the way, kill 40,000 people a year with cars, just in the United States. Given that self-driving cars don’t blink, don’t text while driving, don’t get sleepy or stupid, it’s easy to see them being better than humans because they already are.
Self driving cars replacing human drivers is already a done deal. That die is cast. This is just one small example of what is coming.
How will economies function if large swathes of their population are unemployed, replaced by robots? How do governments pay for the running of countries if only a minority pay tax because only a minority are employed? Where is the benefit to any company in producing and distributing goods far more cheaply and and quickly, if no-one can afford them anyway because they have no income? This seems counter-intuitive and a prime case of just because something can be done, that doesn’t mean it should or will.
I had to stop watching, the voice sounded too ‘synthetic’, I didn’t want to wait for the ‘reveal’ if there was one.
There’s no need to argue for or against replacing humans. Maintaining our humanity is the true issue no matter who or what does the work.
This is a really good question Michael and I am worried that we do not currently have the answer. The bigger issue is that when this day does come if history is our guide more than likely we will not be ready.
I am sorry to hear you do not like CGP Grey’s voice as he does have some great videos. You are correct that we do need to maintain our humanity no matter what happens in the future. Also, there really was no big reveal at the end. More of some things to think about.
Absolutely right on. Look how Horn and Hardart Automats replaced trained chefs throughout the world… no, wait…
Also, look how dildos replaced human relationships…
As a drinker I welcome self-driving cars.
I guess we can all hope we evolve and exist for the betterment of all mankind. As captain Picard said in Star Trek First Contact:
“Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn’t exist in the 24th century.
Lily Sloane: No money? You mean, you don’t get paid?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we’re all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane.”
The answer is simple, humans will largely cease to exist. That’s the true lesson of the horse. Our robot owners may keep a few of us around as pets.
Frank Herbert saw this clearly in the 60’s: the Butlerian Jihad was a direct consequence of this kind of thing
“Thou shalt not make a machine in the image of a human mind”
The level of bullshit in this article is obscene.
No. Not true. There is a human in the car at all times, not only holding the hand of the auto-pilot, but taking over for it when it can’t continue. Which is a lot, because the auto-pilot can’t even drive in rain. There are all kinds of regular everyday conditions it can’t handle.
And further, who do you think is programming the auto-pilot? Humans. Computer programs are amazingly stupid. That is why one tiny error in a computer program causes it to crash. Every possible scenario the auto-pilot might find itself in has to be endlessly and meticulously programmed. Even if this article were halfway true, and we are on the cusp of firing all taxi drivers, we have to hire that many computer programmers to program the taxi driving.
We’re decades into flight auto-pilot, and nowhere near pilot-less planes.
Honestly, if you don’t know how to program a computer, go and take a basic course. Just to get your feet wet. Then you will understand how stupid computers are, and you won’t be susceptible to BS articles like this. You will be 10,000 times smarter, not because you know how to program a computer, but because you understand where computer programming fits into the world. It is like moving-making in that you are constantly storing and playing back logic. There is no magic. The computer does not think. There is just endless hours of computer programmers storing logic for future playback. These auto-pilot cars have stored driving in them, that is all.