Neither privacy nor public safety should automatically trump the other. Why can't this type of information be gathered, but only queried and accessed based on something like a warrant or court order. I don't want cops checking up on their girl friends whereabouts, but I would not mind being contacted when my car was parked at the time and place a major crime was committed.
You seem to get to a similar place as O'Neill did in "The High Frontier" -- only without the inspirational Bernal Sphere to Stanford Torus to O'Neill Cylinder progression. I hope you still see those as real opportunities.
You're probably right. But I wonder if we don't do that important maintenance while we're sleeping mainly because there is nothing else going on. Kind of like scheduling indexing and garbage collection on a computer when it is least burdened...
Good science fiction story form 1993 by Nancy Kress about finding the genetic basis of the need for sleep. Among the ideas in the story is that sleep is only needed to dial back metabolism at night, thus conserving energy. Evolutionarily useful when calories are scarce -- not so much now. When the genetic need for sleep is removed, a group of super-productive people is created. Food for thought...
I am using a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 that I constantly change alkaline batteries in. NiMH won't work. So this must be a example of a device that insists on 1.3V or more....
The "moderate" religious folks all carefully choose which parts of their holy writings to emphasize. But don't ignore the fact the Abraham, a guy Judaism, Christianity and Islam all revere, had to pass the test of being willing to kill his child if God wanted him to. Not a club I want to join.
We can keep the argument going indefinitely using anecdotes and preconceptions. Or we can gather and increase the reliability of the data.
In this case, I heard some official state that there was no reason to question the cops version until the video came forward. It would be interesting to gather the other cases of officer involved shootings where the justification on the report was similar and dig a little deeper.
More cameras on the streets might also be useful (ducking and running...)
"For example when faced with the decision to crash into a pedestrian or another vehicle carrying a family."
Ethical human traveling 60kph when pedestrian and family in car simultaneously appear as obstacles 30 meters ahead..."OMG, OMG, I'm gonna hit one or the other! The car is better protected, but there are more people in the car. What did Spock say about the needs of the one? OMG " BANG!
Robot driver in same situation... "Obstacles detected, apply maximum ABS braking". Car stops 8 meters short of collision.
For every "ethical" dilemma a human decides correctly, I would guess there are 1000 fatalities caused by humans just being lousy at driving.
Oh, and what is the right ethical decision to make when deciding whether to hit a single pedestrian or a family in a car?
This is why we need to get some version of a judicial warrant justification as a prerequisite for the use of these datasets. If the police can convince a judge that a person is probably involved in a serious plot or conspiracy, it would be very useful to find out where he/she has been hanging out and with whom. If the cop wants to check up on his ex-wife... then maybe not. The existence of the datasets and how their use is justified needs to be a matter of public record.
This argument reminds me of the arguments I heard about seat belts (e.g. I want to be thrown clear in a crash, Don't want to drown trying to unbuckle, etc.) Children are run down pretty regularly, so are dogs. In many, if not most, of those cases the car could have been stopped safely if 1) the human driver reacted faster / wasn't distracted and 2) the driver was traveling at a speed safe for context and conditions.
I assume the statistic that 90% of automobile accidents are caused by human error is correct. The automated cars of the near future won't be perfect -- but they will outperform humans as drivers by a large margin.
The sensors and programming used in the self driving cars will continue to improve (at a much faster rate than human drivers improve -- if they do at all). Black ice is "invisible" to most drivers. Is it invisible in the infrared? Could wheel sensors detect minute slippage and compensate faster than a human? Could networked self driving cars warn each other of such conditions as they are encountered?
It is true that specially designed roads would also improve self driving cars, but even on today's roads they will be superior to human drivers.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
O.K. I grant you your freedom to make your own decisions about your children's vaccinations -- as long as they are forced to wear a large letter A (Anti-Vax) so I have the freedom to avoid them in public places.
Half of a given group of daycare centers is below average! I wonder if the other half might be above average? And the group as a whole would line up pretty well with the average. News indeed!
Agree. The bar a autonomous car should have to meet is to drive at least 1 order of magnitude better than the average human driver (based on metrics like safety and efficiency). Looking at the human drivers currently on the roads, a robot driver doesn't need to approach perfection to achieve this. Simply adding logic that makes a car stop when it doesn't have sufficient information to proceed safely would make it a superior driver to most of us.
I've been a fan of your eclectic perspective and rational style since I bought the "Last Whole Earth Catalog". I know you were a early proponent and popularizer of space-based solar power and space colonies (at least in late 70's as I recall). Have you changed your views on those? Can I hope that my children will see an O'Neill Cylinder in space (or at least a Bernal Sphere)?
I know faster than light travel is impossible. I know personal jet packs are impractical. Do building those space colonies we dreamed about in the 70's fall in the impractical category -- or just unpopular?
My wife has been teaching for 32 years in downstate Illinois. One of two National Board Certified teachers in the district (meaning she meets the "Highly Qualified" standards for NCLB). She just past the $60K threshold last year (although with the supplies she buys it is still below that). We recently increased her monthly Salliemae payments so they will be paid off by retirement.
Research shows that highly effective teachers (teachers whose students regularly make more than 1 year of academic progress per school year) make a large and lasting difference in outcomes. More so than technology.
So identifying, rewarding and developing highly effective teachers should be a national priority. The economics of moving the median up for students would mean a huge gain for the economy.
As for Gates influencing our national education policy with his wealth, it shouldn't be possible. He can contribute to the discussion and do Foundation research, but that effort should be swamped by the dollars and attention the subject of education reform is getting. If he has too much influence, it just shows he is focusing on education while most of the rest of us aren't.
I would side with those who "Rage against the dying of the light"
Teach the children "Do not go gentle into that good night"
Except here we have the option of using focus and intellect to do more than Rage.
Let's do it.
I have no doubt that your story is true. On the other hand, I have a cousin that was briefly on food stamps and other assistance when her husband left her and the two kids. She worked, and parented, and got a college degree (with the help of several programs). She recently retired after a successful career, one of her sons is a surgeon the other audits banks.
We need to find tools to separate the abusers from those who use the system to get back on their feet.
I am constantly surprised the technically sophisticated slashdot commenters seem to overwhelmingly respond from a perspective of paranoia. Besides the Florida license plate story, it comes up with all big data abuse scenarios. Why can't the technical community come up with some ideas on making the data available for legitimate societal good (missing kids, alibis for innocent people, apprehending real terrorists) and find controls that keep creepy police state abuse at bay. Police could be breaking down doors and taking citizens away on flimsy excuses, but for the most part this is not happening. We can create checks and balances on the access to big data. We just have to recognize that it is here to stay and we can't legislate it away.
I work in marketing for a global manufacturer. All the product specifications have to be maintained in two forms, and displayed one way for the US and another for the ROW (rest of world). It's a pain.
While not a fan of Monsanto's use of intellectual property law applying to genetics, most of what you appear to be worrying about is reactionary nonsense (IMHO).
The rat study done in France seems to be bad science. Dr. Steven Novella in in NeuroLogica blog among others listed the problems with the study. There have been many, many studies testing GMO corn safety. This one is definitely making some extreme claims. I would be willing to bet that larger, better designed studies will follow that will contradict this one.
Scientifically literate environmentalists should consider the logic of people like Steward Brand. He is a long-time environmentalist who advocates GMO's, nuclear power and dense urbanization -- all to limit the negative impacts of human activities on the environment.
There is a faulty assumption underlying the notion of the infeasibility of civilization off this planet. That faulty assumption has a name -- planetary chauvanism... Planetary Chauvinism
No breakthroughs in physics or engineering would be needed to build O'Neill cylinders that could eventually create habitable land areas several times that of the earth.... Space Habitat
So we can't claim it's impossible. Maybe we'll never do it because, as a species, we can't seem to stop wasting talent and energy on killing each other over borders and religions -- But not because it's impossible.
By the way, an O'Neill cylinder is used in the new hard science fiction web series "L5". They only tease you with a few glimpses in the opening episode, but if they get enough support, they'll make more....L5 - A Hard Science Fiction Series
Slashdot Mirror
Neither privacy nor public safety should automatically trump the other. Why can't this type of information be gathered, but only queried and accessed based on something like a warrant or court order. I don't want cops checking up on their girl friends whereabouts, but I would not mind being contacted when my car was parked at the time and place a major crime was committed.
You seem to get to a similar place as O'Neill did in "The High Frontier" -- only without the inspirational Bernal Sphere to Stanford Torus to O'Neill Cylinder progression. I hope you still see those as real opportunities.
You're probably right. But I wonder if we don't do that important maintenance while we're sleeping mainly because there is nothing else going on. Kind of like scheduling indexing and garbage collection on a computer when it is least burdened...
Good science fiction story form 1993 by Nancy Kress about finding the genetic basis of the need for sleep. Among the ideas in the story is that sleep is only needed to dial back metabolism at night, thus conserving energy. Evolutionarily useful when calories are scarce -- not so much now. When the genetic need for sleep is removed, a group of super-productive people is created. Food for thought...
I am using a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 that I constantly change alkaline batteries in. NiMH won't work. So this must be a example of a device that insists on 1.3V or more....
The "moderate" religious folks all carefully choose which parts of their holy writings to emphasize. But don't ignore the fact the Abraham, a guy Judaism, Christianity and Islam all revere, had to pass the test of being willing to kill his child if God wanted him to. Not a club I want to join.
The payola comparison is funny. Apparently that's how rock and roll forced its way into my youth.
I grew up on rock and roll. I know rock and roll and Wayfair.com -- you're not rock and roll.
We can keep the argument going indefinitely using anecdotes and preconceptions. Or we can gather and increase the reliability of the data.
In this case, I heard some official state that there was no reason to question the cops version until the video came forward. It would be interesting to gather the other cases of officer involved shootings where the justification on the report was similar and dig a little deeper.
More cameras on the streets might also be useful (ducking and running...)
"For example when faced with the decision to crash into a pedestrian or another vehicle carrying a family."
Ethical human traveling 60kph when pedestrian and family in car simultaneously appear as obstacles 30 meters ahead..."OMG, OMG, I'm gonna hit one or the other! The car is better protected, but there are more people in the car. What did Spock say about the needs of the one? OMG " BANG!
Robot driver in same situation... "Obstacles detected, apply maximum ABS braking". Car stops 8 meters short of collision.
For every "ethical" dilemma a human decides correctly, I would guess there are 1000 fatalities caused by humans just being lousy at driving.
Oh, and what is the right ethical decision to make when deciding whether to hit a single pedestrian or a family in a car?
This is why we need to get some version of a judicial warrant justification as a prerequisite for the use of these datasets. If the police can convince a judge that a person is probably involved in a serious plot or conspiracy, it would be very useful to find out where he/she has been hanging out and with whom. If the cop wants to check up on his ex-wife ... then maybe not. The existence of the datasets and how their use is justified needs to be a matter of public record.
This argument reminds me of the arguments I heard about seat belts (e.g. I want to be thrown clear in a crash, Don't want to drown trying to unbuckle, etc.) Children are run down pretty regularly, so are dogs. In many, if not most, of those cases the car could have been stopped safely if 1) the human driver reacted faster / wasn't distracted and 2) the driver was traveling at a speed safe for context and conditions.
I assume the statistic that 90% of automobile accidents are caused by human error is correct. The automated cars of the near future won't be perfect -- but they will outperform humans as drivers by a large margin.
The sensors and programming used in the self driving cars will continue to improve (at a much faster rate than human drivers improve -- if they do at all). Black ice is "invisible" to most drivers. Is it invisible in the infrared? Could wheel sensors detect minute slippage and compensate faster than a human? Could networked self driving cars warn each other of such conditions as they are encountered?
It is true that specially designed roads would also improve self driving cars, but even on today's roads they will be superior to human drivers.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
-- Isaac Asimov
O.K. I grant you your freedom to make your own decisions about your children's vaccinations -- as long as they are forced to wear a large letter A (Anti-Vax) so I have the freedom to avoid them in public places.
Half of a given group of daycare centers is below average! I wonder if the other half might be above average? And the group as a whole would line up pretty well with the average. News indeed!
Agree. The bar a autonomous car should have to meet is to drive at least 1 order of magnitude better than the average human driver (based on metrics like safety and efficiency). Looking at the human drivers currently on the roads, a robot driver doesn't need to approach perfection to achieve this. Simply adding logic that makes a car stop when it doesn't have sufficient information to proceed safely would make it a superior driver to most of us.
I've been a fan of your eclectic perspective and rational style since I bought the "Last Whole Earth Catalog". I know you were a early proponent and popularizer of space-based solar power and space colonies (at least in late 70's as I recall). Have you changed your views on those? Can I hope that my children will see an O'Neill Cylinder in space (or at least a Bernal Sphere)?
I know faster than light travel is impossible. I know personal jet packs are impractical. Do building those space colonies we dreamed about in the 70's fall in the impractical category -- or just unpopular?
My wife has been teaching for 32 years in downstate Illinois. One of two National Board Certified teachers in the district (meaning she meets the "Highly Qualified" standards for NCLB). She just past the $60K threshold last year (although with the supplies she buys it is still below that). We recently increased her monthly Salliemae payments so they will be paid off by retirement.
Research shows that highly effective teachers (teachers whose students regularly make more than 1 year of academic progress per school year) make a large and lasting difference in outcomes. More so than technology.
So identifying, rewarding and developing highly effective teachers should be a national priority. The economics of moving the median up for students would mean a huge gain for the economy.
As for Gates influencing our national education policy with his wealth, it shouldn't be possible. He can contribute to the discussion and do Foundation research, but that effort should be swamped by the dollars and attention the subject of education reform is getting. If he has too much influence, it just shows he is focusing on education while most of the rest of us aren't.
I would side with those who "Rage against the dying of the light"
Teach the children "Do not go gentle into that good night"
Except here we have the option of using focus and intellect to do more than Rage. Let's do it.
Not Godzilla, it's the "China Syndrome".
I have no doubt that your story is true. On the other hand, I have a cousin that was briefly on food stamps and other assistance when her husband left her and the two kids. She worked, and parented, and got a college degree (with the help of several programs). She recently retired after a successful career, one of her sons is a surgeon the other audits banks.
We need to find tools to separate the abusers from those who use the system to get back on their feet.
I am constantly surprised the technically sophisticated slashdot commenters seem to overwhelmingly respond from a perspective of paranoia. Besides the Florida license plate story, it comes up with all big data abuse scenarios. Why can't the technical community come up with some ideas on making the data available for legitimate societal good (missing kids, alibis for innocent people, apprehending real terrorists) and find controls that keep creepy police state abuse at bay. Police could be breaking down doors and taking citizens away on flimsy excuses, but for the most part this is not happening. We can create checks and balances on the access to big data. We just have to recognize that it is here to stay and we can't legislate it away.
I work in marketing for a global manufacturer. All the product specifications have to be maintained in two forms, and displayed one way for the US and another for the ROW (rest of world). It's a pain.
While not a fan of Monsanto's use of intellectual property law applying to genetics, most of what you appear to be worrying about is reactionary nonsense (IMHO).
The rat study done in France seems to be bad science. Dr. Steven Novella in in NeuroLogica blog among others listed the problems with the study. There have been many, many studies testing GMO corn safety. This one is definitely making some extreme claims. I would be willing to bet that larger, better designed studies will follow that will contradict this one.
Scientifically literate environmentalists should consider the logic of people like Steward Brand. He is a long-time environmentalist who advocates GMO's, nuclear power and dense urbanization -- all to limit the negative impacts of human activities on the environment.
Yours was a response based on logic and backed up with (attributed) facts. You caused me to think and learn something.
Thank you.
There is a faulty assumption underlying the notion of the infeasibility of civilization off this planet. That faulty assumption has a name -- planetary chauvanism ... Planetary Chauvinism
... Space Habitat
...L5 - A Hard Science Fiction Series
No breakthroughs in physics or engineering would be needed to build O'Neill cylinders that could eventually create habitable land areas several times that of the earth.
So we can't claim it's impossible. Maybe we'll never do it because, as a species, we can't seem to stop wasting talent and energy on killing each other over borders and religions -- But not because it's impossible.
By the way, an O'Neill cylinder is used in the new hard science fiction web series "L5". They only tease you with a few glimpses in the opening episode, but if they get enough support, they'll make more.