Let’s hope the roller-coaster will slow down soon

AJOHANNESBURG Tavern reader made an interesting comment on my column about driverless taxis. He said he didn’t believe driverless taxis would ever become the norm because a computer-controlled machine did not have the ability to make moral decisions.

He said: “If an elderly woman steps out into the road in front of the robot vehicle, it could decide to swerve to the left instantly to avoid hitting her.

“However, if there is a young mother wheeling a baby in a pushchair on the left, she and her baby would be killed by the swerving taxi. On the other hand, if the taxi decides to swerve to the right it will crash into a big tree, probably killing the passenger who engaged the taxi. “How would the taxi decide which human to kill?” I believe he has a good point. The great science fiction writer Isaac Asimov compiled a basic set of rules that covered the action of all robots.

The Three Laws of Robotics stated: (1) A robot may not harm a human. (2) A robot may not, through inaction, allow harm to come to a human. (3) A robot’s third duty is to do anything necessary to protect itself from harm.

I think while our robot taxi is weighing up the merits of each decision, at least one of Asimov’s laws would have been broken.

I leave you to ponder that dilemma as we head into a brave new year.

Cops everywhere

A friend who was driving back to Fish Hoek from Onrus on Boxing Day said she was enormously impressed by the actions of the Cape traffic police.

All the way along the Baden Powell coastal route, from Monwabisi to Fish Hoek, there were hundreds of traffic officers in patrol vehicles and on foot.

They were all working hard, firmly and politely directing traffic, escorting pedestrians across the busy roads and helping to keep the flow of traffic smooth. And it was all done with a smile.

Congratulations, Cape Town, for a job well done. Let’s hope the cops keep up their good work to keep our roads safe.

Last column

This is my last Tavern of the Seas column for 2017, so I wish all our readers a peaceful, safe and happy New Year. The past year has been a roller-coaster ride, which can be fun if you enjoy that sort of thing, but I hope the new year is a little less exciting.

Too much up-and-down travel can be rather sick-making.There have been too many sick-making moments in South Africa this year.

Last Laugh

A primary school teacher asked one little boy: “Jimmy, if you had R3 in one pocket and R4 in you other pocket, what would you have?”

Jimmy didn’t have to think for long before replying: “Somebody else’s trousers, Miss.”