Hey, a few too many absolutes here, and a big dash of hyperbole. Yes
there are dangers in technology. (Hell, I've worked on 2 SCADA systems,
and they scared me for a bit, there.)
But there are a few advantages, perhaps? The whole of life is an exercise
in risk management, folks.
Checked on some figures on the driverless Copenhagen Metro. It seems that
it has had no accidents since 2002 and about 2 or 3 years ago, that system
was carrying more than 55 million passengers p.a. Maybe computers
did ok there for a while. (4 years past the funny 10-year deadline people
have suddenly invented as the break between Old Good Stuff and New
Dangerous Stuff.)
Those who believe in Old Good Stuff might have a look at some of the road
fatalities a While Back There. And yes, much of the change might be
about management of human frailties rather than weaker mechanics etc...
But a lot of it has to do with better design. Ask the Formula One driver,,
as extreme examples of how much safer you can make mad driving at
ridiculous speeds if you work on better design.
Which only goes to show that your context for all this stuff is important,
as in Copenhagen trains run on lines that aren't infested with mad drunken
tweeting phone users showing off their non-existing driving skills to their
mad mates -- because they don't get to drive! Computers do. So
which would you prefer ?
Maybe just a smarter public transport system for a start ? With added
flexibility for routes and schedules ?
It seems computers can do some things right,, given a selection of the
right context to work in. Don't think the bullet trains would work
terrifically well without them. Or planes. Or banking systems. ...
Or quite a few cars from 8 - 10 years ago and more.
Oh dear, we don't have to get down to this level, do we ?
And I don't think Ms C. is drafting emails with a pencil, so let's not
get too carried away, shall we ?
-Peter M
On 8 July 2016 at 16:01, Allan Charlton <allancharlton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Whenever I hear someone praising autonomous cars - or, indeed, any 'smart'
electronic device, I invite them to meet my robot vacuum cleaner. Mine is
nowhere near as smart as its manufacturerer claimed, but it's fun to watch
as it makes its decisions.
I wouldn't dream of buying a car from those people! Not a chance!
My car is ten years old and it's knee-deep in computers, all connected to
an OBDII port. That stuff can be very useful, but problematical. My son
borrowed my car to tow a trailer carrying some parts and he had an accident
with the trailer. The automatic transmission on my car disengaged itself
and wouldn't re-engage until my brakes were inspected. That cost him an
expensive towing job. An old-style mechanic wouldn't have a chance of
working that out.
And if you think your ten-year-old car isn't computer-controlled, I
suggest you think again.
Allan
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