A new paper by MIT researchers details the results of a survey on an online platform they developed, which asked respondents to make ethical decisions about fictional self-driving car crashes. “Millions of users from 233 countries and territories took the quiz, making 40 million ethical decisions in total,” writes James Vincent of The Verge.
Carolyn Johnson writes for The Washington Post about a new MIT study “that asked people how a self-driving car should respond when faced with a variety of extreme trade-offs.” According to Prof. Iyad Rahwan, “regulating AI will be different from traditional products, because the machines will have autonomy and the ability to adapt,” explains Johnson.
MIT researchers used an online platform known as the “Moral Machine” to gauge how humans respond to ethical decisions made by artificial intelligence, reports Jamie Leventhal for PBS NewsHour. According to postdoc Edmond Awad, two goals of the platform were to foster discussion and “quantitatively [measure] people’s cultural preferences.”
CNBC reporter Lorie Konish speaks with Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab, about some key questions around autonomous vehicles for retirees. “The older people who can't drive — whether it is a cognition issue, health issue, physical disability issue — who gets them in the car?” says Coughlin. “And if your mom’s not cognitively well enough to drive, does she ride in the robot car by herself?”
Prof. Iyad Rahwan speaks with New Scientist reporter Sean O’Neill about his work investigating the ethics of artificial intelligence. “I’m pushing for a negotiated social-contract approach,” explains Rahwan. “As a society we want to get along well, but to do it we need property rights, free speech, protection from violence and so on. We need to think about machine ethics in the same way.”
Prof. John Leonard speaks with Bloomberg News about his work with the Toyota Research Institute on developing a system that combines machine learning technologies and sensors to make vehicles safer. “Imagine if you had the most vigilant and capably trained driver in the world that could take over in a situation where a teenager took a curve too fast,” says Leonard of the inspiration for the system.
MIT startup Skydio has launched a platform that allows users to create custom software that can be applied to the company’s autonomous drone, reports Nick Statt for The Verge. The platform will let “app makers and drone enthusiasts develop custom software that takes advantage of the device’s bevy of cameras and sensors, as well as its sophisticated computer vision software and machine learning algorithms.”
WCVB’s Mike Wankum visits the Beaver Works Summer Institute to see how high school students are gaining hands-on engineering experience. Robert Shin, director of Beaver Works, explains that the program is aimed at “inspiring the next generation.”
Wired reporter Jack Stewart explores the technology behind Boston-based startup WaveSense, which applies ground-penetrating radar developed at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory to give self-driving cars a way to map where they are without relying on visual clues or GPS. The technology, writes Stewart, was “first deployed in 2013 to help troops navigate in Afghanistan, where staying on path and avoiding landmines is a matter of life and death.”
Boston Globe reporter Bette Keva spotlights SeaTrac Systems, Inc., which was founded by MIT alumni Buddy Duncan and James Herman, and has developed an autonomous, solar-powered boat. Herman explains that SeaTrac’s goal is to develop a boat that could be used on “dirty, dull, dangerous, or expensive” missions.
In an article for Wired about distracted driving, Aarian Marshall highlights how MIT researchers are studying how drivers use new automated driving systems. “This is about human-centered development: leveraging the human element and integrating it with advances in automation,” explains Research Engineer Bryan Reimer.
Research Engineer Bryan Reimer speaks with Bloomberg Radio about autonomous vehicle safety following the announcement that nuTonomy will soon test its vehicles on Boston streets. Citing the successful partnership between city officials and autonomous vehicle startups, Reimer stresses the importance of companies demonstrating “that they can walk before they can run.”
Autonomous vehicle company nuTonomy, an MIT startup, has been given permission to test their cars throughout Boston, writes The Boston Herald’s Jordan Graham. “They are going to encounter things on the road they’ve never seen before,” says MIT research engineer Bryan Reimer. “The only way to progress is to do it.”
MIT startup nuTonomy has received permission from Boston city officials to test run its autonomous vehicles citywide, reports Zeninjor Enwemeka for WBUR. “We are excited to have access to some of the most complex roads in North America as we continue to focus on improving the safety and efficiency of transportation,” said MIT alumnus and nuTonomy president Karl Iagnemma.
Engadget reporter Jon Fingas writes that MIT researchers have developed a tiny computer chip small enough to fit on a honeybee-sized drone that can help the drone navigate. The technology could eventually be applied to, “smart pills that navigate to where they're needed, or virtually any vehicle that may need to last for a very long time on one battery charge.”