4 page paper on Artificial intelligence in driverless cars

Artificial intelligence is a technology to make a computer, a robot controlled by the computer, or even a software function intelligently just like human beings can function. It is accomplished by first studying how a human brain works, how it learns and decides and works while solving a problem. The outcomes of this study are usually used in developing an intelligent software. The main goals of artificial intelligence is to create expert systems, implement the intelligence possessed by human beings in creating machines such as driverless cars.

      For many years attempts have been made to create driverless cars, but with the modern technology, various companies such as Google have developed successful attempts of coming up with driverless cars with the help of artificial intelligence.

     Software engineers usually create algorithms which outlines to the car various examples of what is safe, unsafe, right or wrong. The car is able to learn from these examples and function intelligently. These examples are best compared with thousands of ‘if-then’ statements (Samuel year?). This type of approach to automotive engineering may seem intuitive but the truth is that artificial intelligence algorithms are the only solution to the dynamic driving conditions in our public roads. It is actually not possible for a programmer to hard code each and every variable or a situation that may occur in each day during the driving process. Engineers usually rely on the car to collect information and then process it through fluid artificial intelligence algorithm. The main power for this kind of an approach is actually realized since these driverless cars have one major advantage over cars which are driven by human beings. Driverless cars have the ability to share their experiences and reading with other cars instantaneously which is one of the good features of artificial intelligence. This type of shared experience as well as active learning which creates a situation where the self-driving cars with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms, can actually improve their way of reacting to situations on the road without having to experience those situations at first.

      We see a great improvement with artificial intelligence on self-driving cars. Unless these cars can interpret the various types of objects as well as situations surrounding them, they cannot actually make adequate decisions (Kyler). There is the need to develop a learning algorithm instead of developing a million rules.

    Artificial intelligence in self-driving cars has many applications while being used in these vehicles. Some of the obvious actions include the following:

·      Directing the vehicle to a recharge station or a gas station after the artificial intelligence mechanisms detect that the fuel is running low.

·      Incorporating speech recognition for advanced communication with the passengers onboard

·      Adjusting the directions of the trip based on the traffic which is known in finding the quickest route

    Experts are optimistic of these self-driving cars, and hope in future that we will have fully operational driverless cars since they have some very good features, which are not present in the cars we use nowadays (Jameson). Car companies have actually started joining hands with technology giants such as Google, Uber and prominent startups in developing next generation driverless cars. The technology giants will assist in coming up with the relevant algorithms, which will be used in controlling these vehicles.

     There are various enablers of this technology. One of the enablers is the cloud based connectivity and networking. When the proper driverless cars will come to place, they will require onboard systems, which support machine to machine communication. This will make them to learn from other vehicles on the road so as to make relevant adjustments which account for weather changes and the shifting road conditions. Advanced algorithms, deep learning as well as Artificial intelligence are key to ensuring that driverless cars automatically and quickly adapt to the changing conditions. Software will also be a powerful element in these driverless cars. They will allow instantaneous new feature updates but they will also be serving as the mechanisms (Kazliner). For personalizing as well as programming the performance of the vehicle. For instance, members of a family can configure a driverless car to do some pick up and drop off.

There are various advantages and disadvantages that artificial intelligence will bring to our transportation sector. Some of these advantages include:

The use of artificial intelligence will make our roads much safer than before. There have been many accidents reported due to careless driving such as overspeeding. Driverless cars will reduce this drastically using the algorithms installed into them.

Traffic and fuel efficiency will greatly improve. The already designed cars are made to optimize efficiency in acceleration as well as braking. This will help in improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. You will be able to get to your destination faster since there will be no traffic congestion.

Also people will have more free time. Since the artificial intelligence will be doing much of the driving, you will actually be much free from driving and probably you will actually be doing something else

Also these cars have disadvantages. They include the following:

One of the main disadvantages is that these cars will be very expensive especially after the time they start functioning in most parts of the world. Many people will not afford and it will take time before the cost reduces.

Also many people will lose their jobs due to this technology. This include truck and taxi drivers.

Also the issue of hackers is tricky with these vehicles. They can interfere with the software and affect its operations.

In conclusion, this technology will actually take some time to be fully functional in most countries. Artificial intelligence will play a critical role in the evolving of this technology. The advantages of these vehicles looks so pleasing but we should also look at the negative side of it before using this technology.