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Re: Self driving Tesla fatal crash. Posted by DnstrDan [Email]  (#1361) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from DnstrDan) on Fri, 1 Jul 2016 11:30:13
In Reply to: Self driving Tesla fatal crash., EAnderson, Fri, 1 Jul 2016 05:06:18 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I have little doubt that the state of the art for autonomy, image recognition, and artificial intelligence will continue to evolve to the point where robotic agents will surpass most human drivers in skill and decision-making. That said, this incident is a sobering reminder of how the now-ubiquitous EULA's and mandatory liability waiver releases pose real risks when their authority extends from harmless desktop software applications to critical functions such as automotive traffic control or pilotless commercial air carriers.
In the race to ever better short term profitability, the software industry has gravitated from rigorous internal alpha testing and selected user beta testing, to wholesale conscription of end-users as inexpensive beta testers. For life-critical systems, this is unacceptable.
Both the private and public sector sticks of enforcing product quality (threat of civil litigation and government regulation, respectively) have been compromised over the years by the steady erosion of the Seventh Amendment and anti-government animus. Industry initiatives to systematically screen and test for software quality such as DO-178, while commendable, IMO fall short because the situational operational environment is so huge that the considered permutations of operational use scenarios are capped by cost considerations. The autonomy design is only as robust as the requirements formulated to create it.
A landmark decision in the US courts regarding the apportionment of liability for accident damages amongst the manufacturer and the end users is in the offing. Some companies will strategize to minimize exposure and require external pressures to behave responsibly, others will embrace responsible engineering and accountability as part of their product ethos. For the latter outcome, I found Volvo's stated stance (see link) encouraging.
IEEE Spectrum article on driverless car liability
->Posting last edited on Fri, 1 Jul 2016 11:32:41.
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