IS/IT News Report: AI in Self-Driving Cars, Organizational Impact

This report provides an analysis of a news item concerning the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Google's self-driving cars. It discusses an incident involving a modified software that led to an accident, highlighting the conflict between prioritizing data collection and ensuring safety. The report describes information systems and information technology, focusing on AI's role in autonomous vehicles, and examines the benefits and challenges associated with AI, such as error reduction and potential limitations in handling unforeseen situations. It also assesses the relevance, goals, and objectives of AI, including its implications for individuals and society, while pointing out missing information in the news report. The analysis concludes with a balanced view on the pros and cons of self-driving cars, emphasizing the importance of thorough testing and security measures before widespread implementation, and acknowledging risks such as data breaches and misuse of technology.

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Information System/Information Technology News
Report
11/12/2018

Information System/Information Technology News
Executive Summary
Information Systems/Information Technology has become an inevitable part of the business
organizations and users in the current scenario. The report analyses a news item on one such
technology and provides the benefits and challenges associated with the same. The relevance,
goals, objectives, and the personal opinion are also included.
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Information System/Information Technology News
Table of Contents
Summary of the News Items..................................................................................................................3
Description of IS/IT...............................................................................................................................3
Benefits & Challenges of AI..................................................................................................................3
Relevance, Goals & Objectives of AI, Implications for Individual & Society.......................................5
Missing Information & Limitations of New Report...............................................................................6
Questions/Points in the Article..............................................................................................................6
Opinions & Conclusion.........................................................................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................................7
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Information System/Information Technology News
Summary of the News Items
The new item describes the accident that took place due to the modification of the software
installed in Google’s self-driving car. Anthony Levandowski, former Google Engineer had
modified the software that allowed the car to be driven on the forbidden routes. Journalist
Charles Duhigg has explained the differences between Levandowski and Isaac Taylor,
Google Executive over the self-driving vehicles and the software. The two took a ride in
Prius, self-driving vehicle and collided with Camry, another vehicle that resulted in multiple
spine injuries for Taylor. Levandowski defended the incident by reporting it as invaluable
source of data. As per the updated regulations of California, it is necessary to report the
accidents and collisions of the self-driving vehicles and Google has reported 36 such
incidents since 2014. Levandowski headed Waymo project for Google and founded his own
company, Otto in 2016 which was later acquired by Uber. Levandowski caused data breach
and stole the data from Google’s Waymo project. Otto, Uber, and Google have parted ways
with Levandowski. The self-driving vehicles developed by Google have been tested on 10
million miles on the public roads to ensure road safety (Murdock).
Description of IS/IT
Information systems are defined as the organized systems that are used to store, manage, and
handle the information sets. The application of these systems to manage the information sets
using specific tools and applications is information technology.
The self-driving cars at question in the new item are designed using the concepts of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) as the prime technology along with other technologies as Machine Learning,
Robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT). Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of the
machines to behave intelligently and perform tasks without the human intervention. It
includes the development of the machines that behave and reach like humans (Sotala).
Benefits & Challenges of AI
There are several benefits and challenges that are associated with AI. The primary benefit is
error reduction as the probability of manual mistakes is nullified. For instance, in the
manually-operated vehicles, the chances of collision and accidents are higher due to rash and
careless driving. However, autonomous vehicles are programmed to avoid collisions which
can enhance the road safety. The technology allows the development of the machines that can
act as digital assistants of the humans. They may interact with the user and perform as per the
preferences of the user. The use of the technology in the development of autonomous
vehicles will improve the transport interconnectivity and will also reduce congestion on the
road. The timeline of automation in the automobile industry is as shown in the image below.
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Information System/Information Technology News
Automation Timeline (Mynrma)
The mobility options will also improve for differently-abled, kids, and senior citizens. There
are several people that will be able to commute from one place to the other in their personal
vehicles in spite of not being able to drive on their own (Okamoto).
There are also a few challenges that are associated with the technology. There are specific
programs and algorithms that are fed in to the machines and the actions are the result of the
same. The machines may not be able to react like humans in certain situations which may
result in collisions on the road (Wang and Hussein 20-29). Also, there may be loopholes in
the testing process that may have severe implications. The graph shows the countries that are
best prepared for the autonomous vehicles.
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Information System/Information Technology News
Readiness of the Countries for Autonomous Vehicles (McCarthy)
These scores have been defined on the basis of the parameters as policy & legislation,
technology & innovation, infrastructure, and consumer acceptance. There are other countries
that are also looking forward to launch the autonomous vehicles but do not have the
technology or infrastructure to adequately implement the same. The use of AI in destructive
or incorrect measure may result in more harm than good.
Relevance, Goals & Objectives of AI, Implications for Individual & Society
The primary goal of AI is to enhance the automation and mobility so that there are lesser
errors and the processing speed is enhanced.
The technology has relevance in a lot many fields. For instance, it is already being used in the
area of medicine and healthcare to provide remote and tele-health services to the patients. It
has also allowed enhanced diagnosis measures for the medical professionals (Albu and
Stanciu). The technology has also assisted the business professionals for providing enhanced
services and support to the customers with the development of chatbots. Human resource
management and communication is also improved at the workplace with the use of AI. The
technology is relevant as there are advancements that are being made in terms of technical
aspects and it is necessary to adapt to automation of the operations and activities to maintain
the pace with the changing nature of technology.
Driverless cars and other autonomous vehicles are also applications of AI that are relevant for
achieving enhanced road safety, connectivity, and mobility.
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Information System/Information Technology News
Missing Information & Limitations of New Report
The new report does not describe the details of the modified software that led to the accident.
Also, it does not cover the details of the technologies that are used in the projects headed by
Google. It primarily focuses upon the wrongdoings of Levandowski along with the measures
that were taken by the organization to avoid the implications of the same. The report should
have also talked about the primary modules in the software that were modified that led to the
collision.
Questions/Points in the Article
The driverless cars and vehicles will soon replace the current vehicles and the article
discussed the potential benefits and challenges associated with the same that primarily
attracted and resulted in the choice of the article for analysis. The article also discusses the
conflicts among the leading organizations as Google and Uber that showcases the loopholes
in the management policies and plans. Also, it reflects upon the cases of data leakage and
data breach that is one of the primary causes of concerns for the organizations in the present
scenario. The article, therefore covered the three major areas as the application of AI in the
automobile industry, conflict resolution as a part of project management, and information
security & privacy. These were the three areas that were the prime points discusses and
became the cause of selection of the article.
Opinions & Conclusion
There are pros and cons that are associated with every technology and its applications. The
same holds true for self-driving cars and vehicles as well. I believe that there are several
benefits that these vehicles can provide to the end-users in terms of the road safety, enhanced
mobility, comfort, and interconnectivity. However, there are negative aspects that are also
attached to the same. I have observed that there may be misuse of the technology that may be
done which may result in accidents and loss of control (Hecht). The article describes the
impacts of the modification of the software which resulted in the collision. One of the cons
associated with AI is the limited user control. The software codes and algorithms are also
exposed to the security & privacy risks, such as data breaches, data loss, data leakage,
malware attacks, and likewise. The insider threats were given shape by Levandowski with the
transfer of the private and confidential information.
It is necessary to launch and implement the technology only when the users and all the
entities associated with it are ready to accept the same. It is also required that the testing
processes and activities are carried out before the launch of the autonomous vehicles in the
market and all of the modules are thoroughly validated before launch.
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Information System/Information Technology News
References
Albu, Adriana, and Loredana Stanciu. "Benefits Of Using Artificial Intelligence In Medical
Predictions." 2015 E-Health and Bioengineering Conference (EHB) (2015): n. pag. Web. 12
Nov. 2018.
Hecht, Jeff. "Optics Of Autonomous Vehicles." SPIE Newsroom (2017): n. pag. Web.
McCarthy, Niall. "The Countries Best Prepared For Autonomous Vehicles [Infographic]."
Forbes. N.p., 2018. Web. 12 Nov. 2018.
Murdock, Jason. "Google Self-Driving Car Allegedly Caused A Freeway Crash That Was
Never Reported To Police." Newsweek. N.p., 2018. Web. 12 Nov. 2018.
Mynrma. "Driverless Cars The Benefits And What It Means For The Future Of Mobility |
The NRMA." Mynrma.com.au. N.p., 2018. Web. 12 Nov. 2018.
Okamoto, Takeshi. "An Artificial Intelligence Membrane To Detect Network Intrusion."
Artificial Life and Robotics 16.1 (2011): 44-47. Web.
Sotala, KAJ. "ADVANTAGES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES, UPLOADS, AND
DIGITAL MINDS." International Journal of Machine Consciousness 04.01 (2012): 275-291.
Web. 12 Nov. 2018.
Wang, Yue, and Islam I. Hussein. "Bayesian-Based Domain Search Using Multiple
Autonomous Vehicles With Intermittent Information Sharing." Asian Journal of Control 16.1
(2012): 20-29. Web.
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