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Apparently, People Say 'Thank You' To Self-Driving Pizza Delivery Vehicles (technologyreview.com)

Posted by msmash on from the old-habits-die-hard dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Last summer, Ford worked with Domino's Pizza on a test in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it delivered pizza to randomly chosen customers in a self-driving Ford Fusion hybrid. An operator was inside the car, and a regular human-driven car trailed behind, videotaping the drive. Customers had to approach the car and enter a number on a touch screen on the side of the vehicle to get their pizza. Speaking at CES, the annual consumer electronics show, in Las Vegas this week, Jim Farley, Ford's executive vice president, acknowledged that the idea sounds silly, "but we learned so freaking much," he said. Apparently, most people say "thank you" to the car after getting their pizza.

9 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Why not? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Thank you" doesn't cost you a dime, there is absolutely no drawback at all whatsoever to say "thank you".

    I fail to see the problem.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Why not? by alvinrod · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's actually a future hedge against a robot apocalypse. We want the machines to see that people are nice and courteous, because they're also going to watch videos like this. That poor bastard is going to be first against the wall.

    2. Re:Why not? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I fail to see the problem.

      Not so much a problem as a quirk of humans .. the thank you is reflexive. Thanking a machine is hilarious.

      We have this problem in Canada lot, where "sorry" and "thank you" are pretty much ingrained to the point of comedy ... you bump into someone you say "sorry" ... they bump into you, you say "sorry". Canadians can get stuck in doorways trying to let each other go through first, it's kinda hilarious to witness or be the one doing it.

      Thank you gets really funny at times ... a few weeks ago my waitress brought me my beer, I said thank you, she said thank you ... no, you handed me something I asked for, you don't thank me ... I was afraid we'd go into a feedback loop which could only be terminated with a 'sorry'.

      To say 'thank you' to a machine is kind of funny, but it does bode well for humanity. :-P

    3. Re:Why not? by kqs · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wow that's very opposite America, for sure. Average Americans remind me of a two-year-old because "me first!" is foremost in their minds. It's like they're so insecure, they think that showing a little courtesy and respect is the same thing as kissing ass or showing weakness.

      What's wrong with people acting presidential?

    4. Re:Why not? by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 5, Funny

      how much like the real thing is the flesh light?

      Not very much; it's a total rip off. I tried everything from AAs to Ds in the battery compartment and nothing seemed to make proper contact. I think it was designed for some kind of weird proprietary cell. D cells seemed to work the best, but unless it was just totally defective, the best thing I can say about it, is that it is many fewer lumens. There have been some reports of users somehow getting .. blinded? So maybe its like is actually pretty strong but in IR or UV, beyond vision. If true, I bet those stories are also rooted in confusion about what to put in the battery compartment.

      --
      "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
  2. They are not saying it was a problem by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The article didn't indicate it was a problem, just that they thought they should react to it somehow (you're welcome!).

    I see a lot of potential to mine cute robot voices and mannerisms from movies, like Johnny Five I think would make a good pizza delivery personality. Or that luggage inspection bot from the Star Tours ride at Disney.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  3. I say thank you to Alexa by gatkinso · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just seems polite.

    When true AI emerges, I won't be one of the ones out there claiming they are "just machines."

    --
    I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
  4. Re:People personify things all the time... by hey! · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's also breeding, which ingrains conditioned reflexes for interacting with people that carry over to inanimate objects.

    If I stumble into a chair in a dark room, I automatically say "excuse me," not because I think the chair has *feelings*, but because the words come out of me before I have consciously processed the event. That rapidity is no accident: I was trained to say "excuse me" quickly enough that a *person* I bumped into wouldn't have processed the event either. This forestalls any misunderstanding on their part.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  5. Thanking the person in the car? by wafflemonger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It says there was someone in the car. Perhaps they were thanking the person in the car?