Elon Musk expects fully autonomous cars to become a reality within the next ten years, and Tesla’s new autopilot system should play a major role in some aspect of the driverless car industry.
“That will be the case at some point in the future. Like maybe five or six years from now I think we’ll be able to achieve true autonomous driving where you could literally get in the car, go to sleep and wake up at your destination,” Musk said.
However, Musk wants to make it clear that Tesla’s autopilot system, which features ultrasonic sensing and cameras, radar, smart cruise control, obstacle avoidance and a lane-keeping system, is much different from a self-driving car.
“Autopilot is what we have in airplanes. For example, we use the same term that is in airplanes where there is still an expectation that there will be a pilot. So the onus is on the pilot to make sure that the autopilot is doing the right thing.”
Essentially, Musk wants to promote the idea of Tesla’s autopilot system where a human is still somewhat involved in what goes on versus a 100% self-driving car that could lead to some kind of robot takeover.
When robots begin to dominate numerous industries, artificial intelligence becomes a threat to the human race.
Musk tweeted recently that artificial intelligence could be “potentially more dangerous than nukes.”
