Editing 1720: Horses
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Very rough}} | |
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− | + | [https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/10/are-consumers-automakers-and-insurers-really-ready-for-self-driving-cars/ The programming of self-driving cars has been in the news lately], as engineers and philosophers debate what rules the cars should follow in dangerous situations (for instance, what to do when forced to choose between hitting a pedestrian or swerving into oncoming traffic). Randall suggests one approach for solving this problem: to think of the car as behaving like a horse, using its own intelligence and ignoring dangerous commands in the interests of self-preservation. | |
− | + | Car engines are traditionally measured in {{w|horsepower}}, which (roughly) compares the power output of the engine to that of a horse. Randall suggests that an equivalent should be done for the computers in {{w|self-driving car}}s, comparing the car's ability to mitigate for a drunk driver and/or avoid obstacles to that of a horse - the car for sale in the third panel is 200 horsepower (on the higher-end of average for a family vehicle) and 3.5 horse-intelligences. | |
− | + | Note that riding a horse while drunk is in fact still dangerous - a badly-driven horse can toss its owner, trample passersby, fall on bad surfaces, and destroy any wagon or carriage it's pulling - and illegal in many places (for example, {{w|Licensing Act 1872|the UK and Ireland}}). A self-driving car should be able to understand road rules, which a horse will not - which is presumably why the cars in the comic and the alt-text are both specified as being more intelligent than a horse. | |
− | + | Another car is advertised in the alt-text which has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability while producing only 30% as much poop. This is highly unusual because cars usually don't produce any poop at all. 'Poop' may, however, refer to car exhaust rather than actual poop. | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Ponytail walks right with Cueball.] | + | :[Ponytail holding a hand palm up walks right with Cueball.] |
:Ponytail: Drunk driving was less of a problem before cars. If you got on your horse drunk and fell asleep, it could just walk home. | :Ponytail: Drunk driving was less of a problem before cars. If you got on your horse drunk and fell asleep, it could just walk home. | ||
− | :[Zoom in on Ponytail's torso | + | :[Zoom in on Ponytail's torso still holding her hand up.] |
− | :Ponytail: And if you tried to ride into a tree, the horse could be like "No." | + | :Ponytail: And if you tried to ride into a tree, the horse could be like "No." |
:Ponytail: Forget human drivers – ''that's'' the benchmark we should be judging self-driving cars against. | :Ponytail: Forget human drivers – ''that's'' the benchmark we should be judging self-driving cars against. | ||
− | :[The front end of a car, with the bottom of the windshield and the right side mirror just inside the panel is parked before White Hat. He is holding his hand, palm up, out to the left | + | :[The front end of a car, with the bottom of the windshield and the right side mirror just inside the panel is parked before White Hat. He is holding his hand, palm up, out to the left to indicate his car as he brags about it to Megan and Cueball standing in front of him admiring the car. At the top left of the panel a small frame with a caption is placed over the panels frame:] |
:Soon: | :Soon: | ||
:White Hat: This baby has 200 horses under the hood and 3.5 in the computer. | :White Hat: This baby has 200 horses under the hood and 3.5 in the computer. | ||
:Megan and Cueball: Ooooh! | :Megan and Cueball: Ooooh! | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Animals]] | [[Category:Animals]] | ||
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