Life is not so simple, or is it?

© Asleep at the Wheel, New Yorker cover by Frank Viva

We think that we do not have self-driving cars because the technology is not perfect. Furthermore, we heard of Uber experimental driver-less car crashing. Hence, the whole exercise had been put into cold storage.

Jack Ma, in one of his interviews, was quoted as saying that we should wait for a perfect system before introducing it for human consumption. He suggests that we should present it anyway and make changes as we go on, as we encounter obstacles and bumps. I think that is a businessman talking. Capital ventures usually sell an idea, get everybody excited, convince them that it is the best thing since Adam, create an illusion of demand, make loads of money starting the venture, selling the business, going for a kill and split the scene to begin another venture somewhere else.

The idealist would, however, ponder and yonder till the cows come home. Nothing new would see living daylight. Every endeavour would fizzle out as unremarkable as it started.

Another discussion that I heard recently on the use of a driverless car is the moral dilemma. It is dandy that the vehicle can be navigated from point A to point B. Now, along with the way, there can be many unforeseen circumstances. It could be one that had not been programmed with the machine's algorithm. A split second decision may need to be made. The car may need to decide between crashing into a crowd or hitting the pavement. But wait! Hitting the sidewalk or the tree may endanger the passenger. The question arises whether the maker of the car should give importance to its client or to the vagabond slouched by the roadside. How is the software going to know the identity of the potential accident victim if not for facial recognition and access to his bank account and social background? Oh no, does that mean some lives are more worth saving than others? Does owning a self-driving car make you more valuable than the man on the street? And all this in a fraction of a second!

Anyway, human beings are not the best of moral agents especially when it is their lives, or their loved ones are involved. Social class, race, religion and self-interest may cloud their judgement. Are machines going to be any better as they would be programmed by us anyway?