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Uber Seeks Patent For AI That Determines Whether Passengers Are Drunk (cnet.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the drunk-cabbing dept.

In an effort to "reduce undesired consequences," Uber is seeking a patent that would use artificial intelligence to separate sober passengers from drunk ones. The pending application details a technology that would be used to spot "uncharacteristic user activity," including passenger location, number of typos entered into the mobile app, and even the angle the smartphone is being held. CNET reports: Uber said it had no immediate plans to implement the technology described in the proposed patent, pointing out the application was filed in 2016. "We are always exploring ways that our technology can help improve the Uber experience for riders and drivers," a spokesperson said. "We file patent applications on many ideas, but not all of them actually become products or features."

7 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. WTF? by NerdENerd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Being drunk is why I am getting an Uber FFS. If they wont pick me up drunk then they have lost my business.

    1. Re: WTF? by Mouldy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's fair enough, charge people who vomit more. But as someone who has gotten many ubers drunk, has never thrown up in or near an uber and generally doesn't cause a fuss...I don't want to be tarred with the same "all drunk people need to be charged more" brush.

      Maybe they should have some sort of star rating. Like, if you're an asshole, or you throw up in ubers, the driver could rate you badly. Then later uber drivers can charge more to pick up someone with a low rating. That way, good-passengers don't get penalised because of the idiotic minority - and the driver has an indication whether a potential passenger is likely to cause them problems.

      ...maybe that already exists...and this story is either; a lazy PR stunt (this doesn't need AI, but AI gets press), or a genuine greedy attempt at ripping more cash from their customer's hands.

  2. Why not use on DRIVERS too? by THE_WELL_HUNG_OYSTER · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...because isn't that more important?

  3. Just a Thought by dohzer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While they're at it, can they patent a car that doesn't kill pedestrians?

  4. Not AI by mrbester · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As someone pointed out on Twitter, this isn't AI but an if statement.

    --
    "Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
  5. Re:So patent system abuse then? by blackest_k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It doesn't matter, as someone who has done private hire, from experience, when a pub wants to get rid of a customer who is too drunk, somebody else calls the cab.

    You go out for the job and then have to decide if its worth picking up the drunk or not.

    --
    Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
  6. More to the point, this is patentable? by thesupraman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, training a machine learning with sampled data is now patentable?
    Does that also mean I can patent 'Training a person to .......'?
    That has never been allowable before, why is it allowable now?

    Oh, I forgot, the US patent office allows large US companies to patent ANYTHING, totally ignoring actual patent law.