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Sebastian Thrun: Autopilot Makes Me a Safer Driver | AI Podcast Clips
6 segments available
Full episode with Sebastian Thrun (Dec 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPPAOakITeQ Clips channel (Lex Clips): https://www.youtube.com/lexclips Main channel (Lex Fridman): https://www.youtube.com/lexfridman (more links below) Podcast full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Podcasts clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/ai Podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes): https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 Podcast RSS: https://lexfridman.com/category/ai/feed/ Sebastian Thrun is one of the greatest roboticists, computer scientists, and educators of our time. He led development of the autonomous vehicles at Stanford that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge and placed second in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. He then led the Google self-driving car program which launched the self-driving revolution. He taught the popular Stanford course on Artificial Intelligence in 2011 which was one of the first MOOCs. That experience led him to co-found Udacity, an online education platform. He is also the CEO of Kitty Hawk, a company working on building flying cars or more technically eVTOLS which stands for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Subscribe to this YouTube channel or connect on: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
Segments Timeline
The Leadership Dilemma in Innovation
Sebastian Thrun discusses the contrasting leadership styles in the autonomous vehicle industry, particularly between Tesla and Waymo. He emphasizes the balance between public safety and the drive to innovate, highlighting the historical success of the aerospace industry in achieving safety while advancing technology.
"you know the interesting you mentioned gutsy let me let me ask some maybe unanswerable question may be edgy questions but in terms of how much risk is required some guts in terms of leadership style i..."
Safety vs. Innovation in Autonomous Vehicles
Thrun elaborates on the fundamental dilemma faced by innovators in the autonomous vehicle space: balancing public safety with innovation. He notes the impressive safety record of air travel compared to ground travel and discusses the methodologies that have been developed to ensure safety while progressing in technology.
"sit in either of those teams so I'm unable to even verify like so what it says correct right in the end of the day every innovator in in that space will face a fundamental dilemma and I would say you ..."
Tesla's Incremental Approach to Autonomy
Thrun shares his pride in Tesla's autopilot technology, which he uses daily. He explains how Tesla's approach to achieving full autonomy involves incremental improvements through machine learning, contrasting it with other companies that focus on safety drivers and simulation.
"than just not doing it but I think I'm very proud of his of the end states I mean we've we've dealt with much more dangerous technology like nuclear energy and and kept that safe - we have nuclear wea..."
The Shift to Deep Learning in Autonomous Driving
Thrun reflects on the evolution of technology in autonomous vehicles, particularly the rise of deep learning. He discusses how this shift has transformed the approach to self-driving cars, moving from geometric reasoning to machine learning, which allows for more human-like understanding of driving environments.
"thoughts on these contrasting approaches when suppose of all I I'm a very proud Tesla and I literally used the autopilot every day and it literally has kept me safe is a beautiful technology specifica..."
Teaching Lane Finding with Machine Learning
Thrun describes a course at Udacity where students learn to implement lane finding using machine learning. He highlights how quickly students can achieve results comparable to commercial systems, showcasing the advancements in technology and education in the field of autonomous vehicles.
"steroids at Udacity we teach a course in self-driving cars we can infect I think which we've if credits over 20,000 or so people on self-efficacy kills so every every self-driving car team in the worl..."
The Value of Diverse Approaches in Innovation
Thrun discusses Elon Musk's provocative statement about the limitations of geometric thinking in robotics. He advocates for a variety of approaches in the autonomous vehicle space, likening it to ants foraging for food, where diverse strategies can lead to successful outcomes and innovation.
"that's completely amazing to me we've seen progress using machine learning that completely Dwarfs anything that I saw 10 years ago what are your thoughts on Elon Musk's statement provocative statement..."