Elon Musk: Dawn of the self-driving era is upon us

According to Meme Necromancer, Elon Musk, it's nearly time to let robo Jesus take the wheel. Welcome to What the Future. On today's show, we're talking about the future of self-driving cars The only technology in existence that could someday make texting and driving an okay thing to do. Let's get into it. Elon Musk and his merry band of Tesla engineers put on a spiffy presentation for Tesla's Autonomy Investor Day, and laid out a pretty rapid timetable for the dawn of the self-driving era. Musk said he expects Tesla's full self driving system will be full feature complete by the end of this year. He said that users could be free to stop paying attention while using it, by mid 2020. And that the technology should be clearing the last of the US Government's regulatory hurdles by the end of 2020. Tesla's FSD system uses a network of cameras as it's eyes. As well as forward-facing radar and ultrasonic sensors. Notably absent from Tesla's presentation were LIDAR sensors and 3D mapping technology, both of which have been cornerstones of competing self-driving vehicles. Musk went so far as to say that anyone using LIDAR is doomed, believing that image analysis will prove to be more adaptable and reliable. In fact, Tesla cars on the road right now are gathering information and visual data which will be used to improve Tesla's self driving software in the future. Musk says he expects to have Tesla's Robotaxis on the road in some jurisdictions by 2020. And if you're a Tesla owner, your car could someday be put to work as a taxi when you aren't using it. Earning you money instead of sitting in a parking lot. If that wasn't enough, Musk said Tesla would unveil a car without a steering wheel within two years, leaving Jesus with no wheel to take. Google's alphabet conglomerate has been developing a self driving car of it's own. The company is called Waymo. And it's decided to set up shop in Detroit. Waymo says it wants the new facility up and running by mid-2019 and claims it will be the first factory entirely dedicated to building level four autonomous vehicles. Level four meaning that they are capable of driving themselves in specific areas under specific conditions. Waymo has a pilot program currently running on Phoenix. And an app available on the Google play store, but even with the app you'll need to be chosen from a wait list before hopping in a Waymo. This race for self driving cars is undoubtably a thrill, but we're entering a time when technology is going to be making more and more choices for the safety of human beings. And that's a little scary. The massive corporations making this technology are focused on making a profit. And as always, there are monetary incentives to cut corners. Been done before. Boeing was recently in hot water because a relatively new anti stall system in its 737 max 8 planes caused two tragic crashes when improper sensor information Sent the planes into an automatic nose dive, killing hundreds of people. So far autonomous vehicle crashes have claimed the lives of three drivers and one pedestrian. How much control are we as a society William to turn over to these corporate machines? I don't know about y'all, but when it comes to self driving cars I'm gonna think twice about letting go of the wheel. Thanks for watching What The Future. I'm your host, Jessie Earl. See you next time. [BLANK_AUDIO]