Joined Jun 2006
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Forum Thread
Crash: how computers are setting us up for disaster
October 20, 2016 at
06:50 PM
It's a long article but very interesting. Since it's from a UK newspaper, I figured a lot of the Loungers would not have seen it.
Rest of article:
https://www.theguardian
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Quote
:
We increasingly let computers fly planes and carry out security checks. Driverless cars are next. But is our reliance on automation dangerously diminishing our skills?When a sleepy Marc Dubois walked into the cockpit of his own aeroplane, he was confronted with a scene of confusion. The plane was shaking so violently that it was hard to read the instruments. An alarm was alternating between a chirruping trill and an automated voice: "STALL STALL STALL." His junior co-pilots were at the controls. In a calm tone, Captain Dubois asked: "What's happening?" Co-pilot David Robert's answer was less calm. "We completely lost control of the aeroplane, and we don't understand anything! We tried everything!" The crew were, in fact, in control of the aeroplane. One simple course of action could have ended the crisis they were facing, and they had not tried it. But David Robert was right on one count: he didn't understand what was happening. |
Rest of article:
https://www.theguardian
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Driver's education on other hand is quite weak. We have people drive into a lake because GPS tell them to so it shouldn't be a surprise
Actually, the computer apocalypse was first (for those of us who remember 1999, anyway)
Oh actually I think Sun flares were before both.
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Driver's education on other hand is quite weak. We have people drive into a lake because GPS tell them to so it shouldn't be a surprise
however, flight is different. the very act of getting into a vehicle that flies at hundreds of miles per hour thousands of feet is the sky is inherently dangerous, and consequences of seemingly minor mistakes can mean disaster. there is a reason that fly by wire systems were developed: humans, as a whole, suck at dealing with emergencies. before those systems were developed (or on modern planes without them installed), many crashes happen because pilots (even seasoned ones) overcorrect or push planes past their acceptable operating parameters and cause structural failures in response to blaring alarms and unexpected handling. just search for "pilot overcorrected crash" to see it happens regularly, just not as much in commerical liners where we would hear about it (partially because of these systems).
personally, i see flying as playing the odds anyway, so i'd prefer continuing the trend to plan and prevent the escalation of small issues into catastrophes as much as possible, which means i'm in favor of autopilots and fly by wire systems. the A330 mentioned in the first part of the article had a perfect commercial record for the first 15 years of service, at least in part due to these systems; that part shouldn't be overlooked.
But for large planes the training simulator may not completely replace actual flight time but it is far better experience for training. The hands-on "feel" of flying isn't quite as big in larger aircraft but the training simulators even do a pretty good job at simulating that as well. The edge the simulators have is being able to introduce just about any kind of failure imaginable without risking lives and billions of dollars in real planes.
But that doesn't really change the point about computers being a setup for disaster.
Hell, even cell-phones are setting up a lot of us for disaster.
Actually, the computer apocalypse was first (for those of us who remember 1999, anyway)
Wish I had been there to see that.
Wish I had been there to see that.