Why Are Humans Attacking Autonomous Vehicles In California?

The human response to possible takeover by robot overlords is off to a troubling start.

Of six crash reports involving robot cars filed in California so far this year, two involved a human approaching the car and attacking it.

On Jan. 2, a Chevy Bolt EV operated by General Motors' Cruise driverless car division in San Francisco's Mission District was waiting at a green light for pedestrians to cross when a man "ran across Valencia Street against the 'do not walk' symbol, shouting, and struck the left side of the Cruise AV's rear bumper and hatch with his entire body," damaging a tail light, according to a report filed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.


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PUGPROUD - 3/7/2018 1:07:58 PM

+1 Boost

I suspect that people are starting to fear that a wave of AI developments will sweep in and cause a mass replacement of humans leading to widespread loss of
control, unemployment and despair. The autonomous car is the most immediate and visible sign of massive change and is attacked out of frustration that there is no stopping the inevitable. Far fetched? An overstatement? Maybe, maybe not.

SanJoseDriver - 3/7/2018 1:40:52 PM

+1 Boost

I would like to think that it is something that profound--but it is also San Francisco so it could also easily be psychotic homeless people (or smart ones looking to make a quick buck).

MDarringer - 3/8/2018 8:10:13 AM

-1 Boost

Whatever the case, we need to make safe spaces for these people and to be non-judgmental because we cannot know their inner pain.

valhallakey - 3/7/2018 1:54:53 PM

+1 Boost

Or it could be anti environmentalists. Around here a lot of diesel truck drivers have removed some of the pollution controls so they can spew lots of black soot when accelerating or just punching the gas pedal. Saw some kids at a stoplight having a great time spewing soot on a Prius driver.

TomM - 3/7/2018 6:28:16 PM

+2 Boost

Oh - come on people
YOu have a bad day and you want to lash out at something - and the Autonomous car is not programmed to fight back - a perfect victim. Even better than a parked Mercedes.

hangtime010 - 3/8/2018 7:32:15 AM

+1 Boost

valhallakey - yup and yet those modifications are perfectly acceptable by the public even though the trucks pollute 1,000 times more than the worst diesels.
@SJD, maybe 1 of the 2 was a psychotic homeless person, but the 2nd was a taxi driver who got out of his car at a red light and damaged the autonomous car (doesn't mean he wasn't psychotic)

SanJoseDriver - 3/8/2018 7:36:32 PM

+2 Boost

Well, the taxi driver will lose his job at some point. Damaging a self-driving car won't help his case at all.