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posted by takyon on Tuesday May 08 2018, @03:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the false-negative dept.

The first machine to kill a human entirely on its own initiative was "Likely Caused By Software Set to Ignore Objects On Road" according to a new report on the collision which happened last March:

The car's sensors detected the pedestrian, who was crossing the street with a bicycle, but Uber's software decided it didn't need to react right away. That's a result of how the software was tuned. Like other autonomous vehicle systems, Uber's software has the ability to ignore "false positives," or objects in its path that wouldn't actually be a problem for the vehicle, such as a plastic bag floating over a road. In this case, Uber executives believe the company's system was tuned so that it reacted less to such objects. But the tuning went too far, and the car didn't react fast enough, one of these people said.

Fast enough? She walked across three and a half lanes in what should have been plain view of the car's LIDAR the entire time.

takyon: Also at Reuters. Older report at The Drive.

Previously: Uber Pulls Self-Driving Cars After First Fatal Crash of Autonomous Vehicle
Video Released of Fatal Uber - Pedestrian Accident, and More


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by acid andy on Tuesday May 08 2018, @06:38PM (3 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Tuesday May 08 2018, @06:38PM (#677126) Homepage Journal

    Which is why we don't even have to consciously think about what to do when we find the remote in the fridge

    Depends whether I've had my first coffee of the morning. If not, insufficient conscious thought is liable to lead to bizarre actions such as attempting to pour the remote into a bowl of cornflakes.

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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday May 08 2018, @07:13PM (2 children)

    Fair enough. The brain does indeed require certain chemicals to function just like a microchip requires electrical power.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 08 2018, @11:09PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 08 2018, @11:09PM (#677224)

      On a serious note, the brain performs better when not addicted to stimulants. I love my caffeine too, but don't kid yourself that it is necessary. At this point it is maintenance not performance enhancement.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday May 08 2018, @11:41PM

        Depends. When and how much you ingest can be used to trick your system into still regarding it as a stimulant, thought with some loss of efficacy. Only drinking caffeinated drinks before ten in the morning, for instance.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.