back to article This week in AI: Man arrested after cops say he rode in backseat of Autopilot Tesla

Highway patrol officers in California arrested a man this week accused of riding in the backseat of his Tesla while it was under Autopilot. The super-cruise-control software should have disengaged without him in the driver seat, yet it is claimed 25-year-old Param Sharma managed to bypass that requirement so that the vehicle …

  1. Winkypop Silver badge
    Facepalm

    iDiots

    Tesla should open purpose-built tracks where these idiots can “self-drive” themselves silly, in safety.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: iDiots

      "It may be difficult to woo ethics researchers to Google in the near future. Croak said she wants the ethics team to focus on health applications and why they’re less effective for people with different skin tones.

      In other words, Google has no interest in hiring AI ethics researchers to study the ethics of Google's AI.

    2. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      FAIL

      The iDiots are at Tesla

      The iDiots are at Tesla, for making their "safety systems" so trivial to defeat. Youtube is full on clowns driving like this guy, and most of them show how trivial & low-tech the defeats are.

    3. Snake Silver badge

      Re: Don't stop them

      I don't understand why the police should attempt to stop and arrest these people. Rather, just place the police car in a threatening position just forward/left of the front wheel.

      This will cause the vehicle to try to avoid an accident, start pulling towards the right...and, hopefully, right off the road and straight into a road divider or tree.

      End of continuing problems.

      Apparently these people are Darwin Award volunteers. Let's help them usher themselves right out of the gene pool.

  2. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
    WTF?

    FFS - Icon.

    Several important questions here?

    Why was a TV reporter needed to report the story from a outside location to the studio, when the guy had already been arrested?

    How the fuck was he allowed to get home by pulling the same stunt a third time, given that he pulled the same stunt in April & this week & still keep his licence?

    Why couldn't the initial concerned citizens, busy recording the act, slow down enough to drop behind & catch the registration plate in order to help the police trace him?

  3. Chris G

    Like most investor driven companies, Google only pays lip service to ethics and morals that are beyond obvious criminal action. The bottom line is profit, only when they are either caught out or in danger of being caught out doing something that catches the public's attention will they address or at least appear to address concerns.

    Google are nowhere near alone, the attitude applies to most profit driven companies, governments and politicians.

    It was clear when Marian Croak said it " It damages the brand" not that " We genuinely want to do good"

  4. chivo243 Silver badge
    Windows

    Darwin Candidates

    Why do so many Darwin candidates have enough money to buy one of these Auto-Pile-up mobiles? Where's the 1969 Impala with a surplus rocket engine mounted on the roof?

    Tramp kinda looks like Darwin...

    1. Peter Gathercole Silver badge

      Re: Darwin Candidates

      The idea behind the Darwin awards is that the candidate removes their genes from the gene pool.

      Unfortunately, many of the people who can afford Teslas have already procreated, so they eliminate themselves from being eligible for the awards, unless they also want to be entered by proxy by taking their children out with them.

  5. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
    Facepalm

    There is an

    attractive option in letting darwin loose on that driver.......

    Sadly though, its not that he'll remove himself from the gene pool , but how many others he takes with him....

    PS dont blame the tesla if the owner is a moron

    1. gobaskof

      Re: There is an

      PS dont blame the tesla if the owner is a moron

      But also do. We can't blame them for this specific moron, but we can blame them for the class of morons they have created. In all honesty who thinks that a car that self drives except in an emergency is a good idea? That a human with nothing to do will keep as alert as one who is actually driving, and will be just as ready to avert danger. Yes, climbing into the back seat is moronic, but how many others, stopped paying attention entirely or even dozed off while they were doing nothing but still legally in charge of the car? They are testing dangerous technology under the guise, and blaming distracted "drivers" when it goes wrong.

      1. Chris G

        Re: There is an

        It's not only the kind of Darwinian candidate who climbs into the back seat, there are all the others who will read a text then reply, read the reply and watch the video or click the link and then be very surprised when they realise the car is not going to stop before hitting the truck/tree/old lady etc.

      2. Blank Reg

        Re: There is an

        have you watched any of the videos of people trying to drive in the city in a Tesla on full auto mode? It's more work and more stressful than just driving yourself.

        And these suckers got fooled into paying extra for this crap. Anyone that has even a passing knowledge of AI knows we're not even close to full time autonomous driving except under certain near ideal conditions.

  6. Eclectic Man Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Back seat driving

    How times have changed. Previously people were stopped by the cops in the USA for having a mannequin in the passenger seat so that they could drive in the lane for cars with more than one occupant, or students would hire themselves out as front seat passengers so that the driver could get where they were going quicker in the 'rush hour'.

  7. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Facepalm

    From the back seat

    Is there a competition going on to see just how stupid Tesla drivers can get ?

    If so, this guy should get the prize.

  8. six_tymes

    I guess the owner had a death wish?

  9. Blank Reg

    if it wasn't for the risk of him killing someone else then I'd say just let him keep going, it will help clean up the gene pool.

  10. Commswonk

    Ah Yes...

    As Albert Einstein is alleged to have said: Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; but I’m not sure about the universe

  11. Red Ted
    FAIL

    As one group of humans try to make machines safer…

    Another group of humans will invent more contrived ways to kill themselves!

  12. WonkoTheSane
    Headmaster

    This likely won't end well for him

    Repeat offending while out on bail will only make the judge want to find an even heavier book to throw at this absolute balloon!

    1. naive

      Re: This likely won't end well for him

      Driving behind the wheel using autopilot is one thing, doing it while sitting on the backseat is deliberate endangering others with lethal harm.

      This guy should get the same sentence as someone discharging a firearm in a shopping mall while not hitting anyone.

  13. khjohansen
    Terminator

    I don't know if the Tesla auto"pilot" has improved ...

    Based on news reports I've seen, "driverless" Teslas have previously tried to "dispose" of their occupants

    ... Was this one merely looking for a discreet location, so as not to disturb innocent passers-by... ?

  14. wjake

    Already back and (not) behind he wheel

    This enormous d-bag has already purchased another Model 3 (from a friend) and is back to riding in the back seat. As he told a TV reporter: ""Yeah, I’m rich as (expletive). I’m very rich.""

    1. First Light

      Re: Already back and (not) behind he wheel

      Either he is nor rich enough to hire a driver, or too cheap to hire one.

      1. My-Handle

        Re: Already back and (not) behind he wheel

        As far as I recall (from the comments on a previous article on this guy, so take this for what it's worth), the moron in question has something of a habit of doing shocking, provocative and outright dangerous stuff. It's part of his social media brand and image, and is significant in earning him a pile of cash. I believe he has already done time in jail for an unrelated stunt.

        He knows exactly what he's doing, attention-seeking of the worst kind and deliberately endangering the people around him for his own benefit. If he wasn't doing it with a Tesla, he'd likely be doing something equally daft. Not only should the judge throw the book at him, but the court might have a good shot at seizing any profits made from videos featuring law-breaking behaviour. I'd also be angling for a court order to take his channel(s) down, as a lot of social media platforms are almost complicit in this kind if behaviour.

        1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
          Go

          Re: Already back and (not) behind he wheel

          Here's hoping he gets the chance to do his own version of Krytie TV.

          Icon - Closest shape for soap in the prison shower.

    2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Already back and (not) behind he wheel

      Baby[AutoPilot] you can drive my car

      Yes I'm gonna be a star

      Baby[AutoPilot] you can drive my car

      And maybe I'll love you

      Beep beep mm, beep beep yeah

      [ahhhh] [crash]

      With thanks and apologies to Paul McCartney/The Beatles

  15. Claptrap314 Silver badge

    What are the odds

    That if Google ends of hiring a white "cis"-male for one of these roles that they will face the full fury of these same groups?

    Certainly, there is a dangerous tonedeafness to beware when your inputs are overly uniform. But race & sex are the last parameters that should be considered, not the first.

  16. adam 40
    Holmes

    How can it be reckless driving?

    THis will be an interesting court case.

    The defendant could argue that it can't be reckless driving because the Tesla was driving.

    To find him guilty, the prosecution would have to prove that the autopilot drives recklessly.

    The ramifications would then be quite bad for Tesla.

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