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Comment by nikofeyn | Hacker News Reader

that is a possibility, but there are key differences that come to mind. one is the different environments. two, the commercial airline pilots are working when using auto-pilot. they are flying the airplane via automation and are still very active in working with the plane and computer systems. they are still performing their jobs. of course, there are still issues, for example the recent boeing plane crash. but to me, it isn't comparable to the tesla situation, especially given the apparent idiocy of tesla owners who have completely bought into the hype compared to professional pilots who actually remain active in flying the plane.

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Autopilot is the system that moves the flight surfaces to maintain altitude (or a climb/dive rate), and heading. There is an FMS (Flight Management System) that can give commands to the autopilot. The FMS knows the X,Y,Z of every waypoint and every runway touchdown point, and has in it encoded the 'highway rules' of aviation. When the FMS flies the plane, it is going on a pre-planned route. It does not adapt to anything. Imminent collision with another aircraft (TCAS advisories) alert the pilot to do something, not the FMS/Autopilot. It is a long way from self driving a car. The specifics make it a good analogy, but how much of the public understands it to this depth.

But in terms of the appropriateness of calling the feature “autopilot,” it seems that Tesla’s feature is as deserving of the name as an airplane’s autopilot (the driver/pilot still has to remain alert and focused on what’s happening).

So what you’re implying is that Tesla uses the misguided notion that many people have about the capabilities of an airplane autopilot to promote a feature that doesn’t behave as people expect?

after experiencing this line of inquiry on many forums, yes, that is consensus.

autopilot is the lane guidance of the skies that maintains basic stability not a level 5 system. people hear autopilot and think it means it does "everything."

further muddying the waters, tesla maintains their car has all the hardware, sensors and computation to support fully autonomous driving. it's just that pesky software missing.

> autopilot is the lane guidance of the skies that maintains basic stability not a level 5 system.

FWIW that's not necessarily true either, autopilots run the entire gamut from "maintains trajectory and altitude" to "automated flight from takeoff to landing" (only the taxiing is left to the pilot).

A switch for maintaining bearing and altitude would be pretty useless in a car, but it would definitely cause fewer misunderstandings than the current illusion of autonomy. Supervised autonomy is dangerous no matter how it is labeled, but some labels are worse than others.

that's all well and good, but i am not talking about airplanes' auto-pilot. there are also still differences in terms of everyday joes buying teslas using its auto-pilot versus trained pilots using auto-pilot. there are differences in availability so the airplane situation is not as suscpetible or vulnerable to a poorly named feature and marketing hype. maybe it is, but i wager the tesla situation is worse.

What recent Boeing crash? I cannot think of anything recent involving the autopilot.

Lion Air flight on the new 737 Max I presume. It isn't exactly the autopilot at cause though according to initial reports, it's the anti-stall system pitching down due to a broken stall sensor, and the pilots not knowing how to disengage it.

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