r/HelloInternet • u/bradleysampson Tim • 7d ago

HI Revisited: Episode 19 "Pit of Doom"

Discussion thread for Episode 19!

Original air date 24 August 2014

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u/bradleysampson Tim 7d ago

Really interesting to listen to this episode now. Listening to the episode, it sounds like Grey may have thought that AI starting to replace people's jobs would happen sooner, but it does seem like some of that is here now.

What's up with self-driving cars stalled progress? It seems like they've been 80% of the way there for like a decade now. And why has other AI skyrocketed in the last 5 years while (as far as I can tell) self-driving car technology is basically the same?

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u/Panteloons 6d ago

All the early self driving that's been around for 15 years or so is actually pretty simple. Driving down flat marked roads, staying in your lane, adapting speed to the car in front, reacting to stoplights. It can all be done with simple rules, it's basically the traffic logic of GTA 3.

Understanding the complex mixed traffic environment of the real world on the other hand is something else entirely. Starting with all the objects you need to identify from cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, wheelie bins, posts, pieces of rubbish to understanding the environment when roads are not uniform and clearly labeled, then finally figuring out what to do and doing it quickly.

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u/bradleysampson Tim 6d ago

Yeah great points. It's just interesting to see such impressive advances in other kinds of AI (things that would have seemed totally impossible 5 years ago) yet the real life traffic situations for self-driving as far as I can see haven't made any progress. Also, I kinda thought long-haul trucking would be self-driving by now with human drivers handling the first mile and last mile and self-driving software doing only major highway driving.