XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: YourName@YourISP.com   
      
   In article , David   
   Friedman  wrote:   
   > In article <220120141849207998%YourName@YourISP.com>,   
   >  Your Name  wrote:   
   > > >   
   > > > I once had map software on my laptop while I was entering St. Louis via   
   > > > a bridge across the Mississippi try to tell me to take a left turn from   
   > > > the divided interstate highway bridge a hundred feet up in the air onto   
   > > > the riverside jogging/bike path below.   
   > >   
   > > One example of NUMEROUS that prove self-driving cars simply aren't   
   > > going to happen any time soon.   
   >   
   > I don't think that follows. As best I can tell, the Google self-driving   
   > car doesn't rely on just GPS and maps. It has mechanisms for watching   
   > the actual road and traffic.   
   >   
   > You might as well argue that human driven cars aren't going to happen   
   > any time soon. They too rely on a combination of information sources,   
   > one of which is often the GPS.   
      
   Human drivers (hopefully) also use intelligence, common sens, and an   
   ability to make decisions for themselves ...three things a computer   
   simply cannot currently have, no matter how complicated the programming   
   is.   
      
   Human drivers can also read road signs no matter where they are placed   
   (other than behind a tree!), whereas a computer will have difficulty   
   doing that in EVERY instance.   
      
   Then there are facts like many roads simply not having markings for the   
   computer to see, or having duplicate markings where the road has been   
   chaged for somereason. The possibilities for something not thought of   
   in the programming are endless.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)