Readings

The readings for this week focus on self-driving cars and cryptocurrencies:

Self-Driving Cars

These articles discuss the push for self-driving cars:

• All Tesla Cars Being Produced Now Have Full Self-Driving Hardware

• Ford’s billion-dollar self-driving car AI deal

• GM Drops the Steering Wheel and Gives Robot Driver Control

• Toyota’s Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

These articles focus on Uber and Lyft's push into self-driving cars:

• Uber's First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh This Month

• The Arrival of Self-Driving Ubers in Pittsburgh

• Lyft says robots will drive most of its cars in five years

• Uber Suspends Tests of Self-Driving Vehicles After Arizona Crash

These articles consider two recent accidents involving self-driving cars:

• Self-Driving Uber Car Kills Pedestrian in Arizona, Where Robots Roam

  • Police Say Uber Is Likely Not at Fault for Its Self-Driving Car Fatality in Arizona

  • Uber Victim Stepped Suddenly in Front of Self-Driving Car

  • Uber Video Shows the Kind of Crash Self-Driving Cars Are Made to Avoid

• Tesla Model X fatal crash investigation

  • Tesla says Autopilot was active during fatal crash in Mountain View

  • Tesla stock falls 12% on crash investigation, debt downgrade

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash

These articles consider the safety of self-driving cars in general:

• Self-Driving Cars Still Don't Know How to See

• Self-driving car accidents: Robot drivers are ‘odd, and that’s why they get hit’

• Car makers can't "drive their way to safety" with self-driving cars

• Self-driving cars still can’t mimic the most natural human behavior

These articles discuss the growing regulation of self-driving cars:

• Cities Need to Take the Wheel in Our Driverless Future

• U.S. House unanimously approves sweeping self-driving car measure

• Self-Driving Cars Gain Powerful Ally: The Government

• Self-Driving Cars Must Meet 15 Benchmarks in U.S. Guidance

These articles consider the social dilemma of self-driving cars:

• The social dilemma of autonomous vehicles

• Tesla's 'Autopilot' Will Make Mistakes. Humans Will Overreact.

• Your Self-Driving Car Will Be Programmed to Kill You-Deal With It

• Enough With the Trolley Problem

This contains a series of short stories or articles related to self-driving cars:

• Full Tilt: When 100% of Cars Are Autonomous

Cryptocurrencies

These articles introduce the idea of cryptocurrencies:

• The WIRED Guide to Bitcoin

• How does Bitcoin work?

• Still Don't Get Bitcoin? Here's an Explanation Even a Five-Year-Old Will Understand

• Bitcoin explained: The digital currency making millionaires

These articles talk about the Bitcoin bubble:

• Bitcoin 'Is Just Like the Dot-Com Bubble'

• Why Bitcoin’s Bubble Matters

• Bitcoin Falls Below $10,000 as Virtual Currency Bubble Deflates

• Bitcoin Can Drop 50% and China Miners Will Still Make Money

• Bitcoin’s insane energy consumption, explained

These articles talk about cryptocurrencies and their recent hype:

• Cryptocurrencies Come to Campus

• It’s time to bring Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies into the computer science curriculum

• How I fell for the blockchain gold rush

• Bitcoin has little shot at ever being a major global currency

These articles talk about the Silk Road:

• How FBI brought down cyber-underworld site Silk Road

• Sunk: How Ross Ulbricht ended up in prison for life

• The History of Silk Road: A Tale of Drugs, Extortion & Bitcoin

• The Untold Story of Silk Road, Part 1

• The Untold Story of Silk Road, Part 2

The articles discuss Mt. Gox:

• The History of the Mt Gox Hack: Bitcoin’s Biggest Heist

• The Inside Story of Mt. Gox, Bitcoin's $460 Million Disaster

• Twice burned - How Mt. Gox’s bitcoin customers could lose again

• Mt. Gox ex-CEO, who may profit from site’s fall, says he “doesn’t want this”

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

1. After reading some of the articles above, address the following questions:

   • What is the motivation for developing and building self-driving cars? What are the arguments for and against self-driving cars? Would they make our roads safer?

   • How should programmers address the "social dilemma of autonomous vehicles"? How should an artificial intelligence approach life-and-death situations? Who is liable for when an accident happens?

   • What do you believe will be the social, economic, and political impact of self-driving cars? What role should the government play in regulating self-driving cars?

   • Would you want a self-driving car? Explain why or why not.

2. After reading some of the aricles above, address the following questions:

   • What is the motivation for developing and building blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies? What are the arguments for and against the use of cryptocurrencies?

   • How should programmers address the moral and ethical concerns about the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies for illegal activities such as selling drugs and sex trafficking? Is it really desirable to have untraceable or anonymous decentralized financial transactions?

   • What do you believe will be the social, economic, and political impact of cryptocurrencies? What role should the government play in regulating blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies?

   • Do you believe in the hype? Or is this just another technology bubble waiting to burst? Do you trust cryptocurrencies and the exchanges and ecosystem around the technology? Would you invest in Bitcoin?

Feedback

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the course, please provide your feedback at the end of your response.