[Tom Bishop]

Google released a video of their self driving car:



A couple things I noticed:

1. Subliminal messaging: The people selected for this video are stereotypes who don't look like good drivers (women, the elderly) and Google makes them better drivers with the Google Car.

2. Production slip: How did the blind man at 2:37 see that he was passing those people to yell at them from the window?

[Vindictus]

Kids are probably pretty bad drivers when they can't legally drive.

[Lord Dave]

1. Its not subliminal, its marketing.  They show the people who would most benefit from the product.  Mainly people who don't drive as well as they used to (age,disability). 

2. There is no indication that the car is passing anyone.  He is simply yelling out the window in hopes that he is heard.  And on a closed track with a camera pointed at you: probably a safe bet he'll be heard at any time.

[Gulliver]

2. Production slip: How did the blind man at 2:37 see that he was passing those people to yell at them from the window?

You might want to consider that a blind person may be able to 1) see some larger features, (MD, for example, typically only affects straight-on vision.) and 2) hear. (If you bother to listen to the sequence in question you can hear the change in sound while passing the object (the trailer?).)

[Thork]

I cannot imagine how many people would lose their jobs if driverless vehicles entered the market. Taxi drivers, bus drivers, lorry drivers, couriers, ... no economy could deal with that.

If you are someone employed to drive, I suggest the instant you see one of these in the wild, you rip the fucking sensor of its roof, puncture its tyres or stuff a potato up its exhaust.

We don't need technology that replaces people. Kill it. Kill it at every opportunity. Otherwise its a world of a few that own all the machines and a world of the rest who have no purpose, no income, no prospects.

Kill the machines. Luddites!

[Rushy]

I cannot imagine how many people would lose their jobs if driverless vehicles entered the market. Taxi drivers, bus drivers, lorry drivers, couriers, ... no economy could deal with that.

If you are someone employed to drive, I suggest the instant you see one of these in the wild, you rip the fucking sensor of its roof, puncture its tyres or stuff a potato up its exhaust.

We don't need technology that replaces people. Kill it. Kill it at every opportunity. Otherwise its a world of a few that own all the machines and a world of the rest who have no purpose, no income, no prospects.

Kill the machines. Luddites!

Thork, automation has been taking people's jobs since the beginning of the Industrial age (and before that, even). If your job requires little or no thought on your part, be prepared for the scenario that a machine will do it better and faster than you can. This is why many laborers are now paid so little, they're literally competing with machines.

Fast food restaurants are already investing heavily in automation, too.

[EnigmaZV]

We should have never let oxen pull our ploughs. In fact, the plough was a terrible idea.

[fappenhosen]

Its cool but I want to see how it handles traffic. Programming a car to react to a static environment is pretty easy (he says puffing out his chest like he knows how to do it) but the hard part is dealing with the other assholes on the road.

Also the spinny thing on top is a bit Lost In Space. I assume its constantly updating Google Street View and by purchasing a Google car you agree to and consent to all images texts, thoughts and emotions experienced both inside and outside the vehicle to be and remain to properly of Google Inc for the duration of your life and thereafter.

[Lord Dave]

I cannot imagine how many people would lose their jobs if driverless vehicles entered the market. Taxi drivers, bus drivers, lorry drivers, couriers, ... no economy could deal with that.

If you are someone employed to drive, I suggest the instant you see one of these in the wild, you rip the fucking sensor of its roof, puncture its tyres or stuff a potato up its exhaust.

We don't need technology that replaces people. Kill it. Kill it at every opportunity. Otherwise its a world of a few that own all the machines and a world of the rest who have no purpose, no income, no prospects.

Kill the machines. Luddites!

What about the horse stable owners back in the mid to late 1800s?

Its cool but I want to see how it handles traffic. Programming a car to react to a static environment is pretty easy (he says puffing out his chest like he knows how to do it) but the hard part is dealing with the other assholes on the road.

Also the spinny thing on top is a bit Lost In Space. I assume its constantly updating Google Street View and by purchasing a Google car you agree to and consent to all images texts, thoughts and emotions experienced both inside and outside the vehicle to be and remain to properly of Google Inc for the duration of your life and thereafter.

As I understand it, Google has been driving it's prototype cars (not this design but ones with actual controls just in case) for over 2 years.  It's only been in 2 accidents, neither of which was it's fault.

[Vindictus]

lol, Thork. About 100 years too late to be making those complaints.

[Ghost of V]

If you are someone employed to drive, I suggest the instant you see one of these in the wild, you rip the fucking sensor of its roof, puncture its tyres or stuff a potato up its exhaust.

The potato trick usually doesn't give the results you'd expect. You'd be better off shooting it with a grenade launcher.

[Saddam Hussein]

I really don't care how safe these cars are or how many jobs they take.  My main issue is that they're obviously going to be another method of spying on us.  All our travel habits will be recorded and sold to advertisers and the government.  Fuck that.

[Fortuna]

I really don't care how safe these cars are or how many jobs they take.  My main issue is that they're obviously going to be another method of spying on us.  All our travel habits will be recorded and sold to advertisers and the government.  Fuck that.

Not to mention, you can be offed if necessary very easily.

[Ghost of V]

This reminds me of an episode of Doctor Who where Google (pretty much) kills people with cars.

[Pete Svarrior]

We don't need technology that replaces people.

If machines replace people in most areas of work, we will no longer need to do work while still having access to the same resources. Yeah, better steer clear of that. Also, vote UKIP.

[rooster]

It would just force people to get jobs fixing all the machines in our lives.

And yay for anecdotes! There's constantly a school bus driver shortage in my area. It's enough of a problem where I've seen a few stories in the local news about those poor kiddies who don't have transportation to school.

[Lord Dave]

We don't need technology that replaces people.

If machines replace people in most areas of work, we will no longer need to do work while still having access to the same resources. Yeah, better steer clear of that. Also, vote UKIP.

But the people who own the machines will demand money for the product. 
Therefore, the access to resources would not exist for those who do not work.

[Pete Svarrior]

But the people who own the machines will demand money for the product. 
Therefore, the access to resources would not exist for those who do not work.

Why would they demand money if work doesn't exist?

[Vindictus]

Barely anyone wants to drive vehicles around all day either. It's a very depressing and underpaid line of work.

[Lord Dave]

But the people who own the machines will demand money for the product. 
Therefore, the access to resources would not exist for those who do not work.

Why would they demand money if work doesn't exist?

Because they have to pay for the energy the robots use.
They have to pay for the labor in building the robots.
They have to pay for maintaining the robots.

They want money.