Fully Self-Driving Cars
Sources:
Lex Fridman discussed several aspects of fully self-driving cars across multiple episodes of his podcast.
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Technological Roadblocks to Full Self-Driving Cars: Elon Musk mentioned on the Lex Fridman Podcast that the main technology needed for full autonomy, the Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) computer, is in production. This hardware is designed to enable full self-driving capabilities through over-the-air software updates 1.
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Impact on Society and Industry: Lex also discussed how self-driving cars could transform society. For instance, he suggested that being able to work during a commute because of fully automated cars might change our perceptions of distance and road usage. Additionally, he considered the social changes that might occur when people choose to interact virtually more often than traveling to meet physically 2.
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Comparison of Autonomous Systems: In an episode with John Carmack, Lex highlighted the benefits of automation in potentially saving lives by reducing car accidents. Carmack noted that while humans are generally good drivers, the statistical safety improvements offered by autonomous cars could be compelling 3.
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The Full Autonomy Debate: Discussing the regulatory aspects of autonomy, Elon Musk explained that for full autonomy to be considered safe enough, it would have to be statistically proven to be significantly safer than human drivers. This involves a process of demonstrating reduced crash probabilities and managing public and regulatory perceptions 4.
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Technological Innovations and Challenges: In a conversation with Dmitri Dolgov from Waymo, Lex delved into the technological achievements and ongoing challenges in the autonomous vehicle industry. They discussed Waymo’s progress in deploying autonomous vehicles that operate without a safety driver 5.
These discussions illuminate both the technological progress and the broader societal implications of fully self-driving cars.
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