Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Darwin loves Tesla
Finally some meaningful non-techtyrant info about Tesla....
In its June 30 statement, Tesla said drivers who engage Autopilot are warned to keep both hands on the wheel at all times. Autopilot, despite its name, is intended as an assistive feature rather than an alternative to manual control.This fact doesn't appear in most of the crap about Harrypottermobiles. This one statement by itself SHOULD BE ENOUGH to tell you that the whole thing is a pure fraud. If you need to be alert and actively driving WITH the alleged autopilot and you need to be alert and actively driving WITHOUT the alleged autopilot, then the alleged autopilot is NOT HELPING YOU. Even worse, it's making you overconfident just like alcohol or crack. No, not just like alcohol. Alcohol doesn't grab the wheel and make its OWN independent bad decisions. So: Tesla is the equivalent of two angry drunks fighting behind the wheel. If you think this is an improvement over just plain driving with just plain alert senses, YOU NEED TO DIE, and your death should be CELEBRATED. The Information Week article goes on to make an EXTREMELY SANE comment:
Yet, perfection is too much to expect from autopilot systems. Machines fail, and failible people are likely to remain in the loop. In aviation, automation is common and has prompted concerns that it degrades the skills pilots need when intervention is called for. If the same holds true for cars with autopilot systems, we can expect to become worse drivers, less able to respond to emergencies, even as our autopilot systems reduce fatalities overall.Ahem. SKILLS. But why does the author even SUPPOSE that the autopilot is intended to reduce fatalities? There's no evidence for that statement. Autopilot is controlled via radio, which means it will hit anything or anyone Elon wants to hit. So I'll revise the image. Two angry drunks fighting for the wheel, and one of them is taking direct orders from Satan. Isn't that a pleasant picture? ¶ 1:12 AM
