GM recalls 300 robo-cabs after its self-driving car crashes into a bus

AI has captivated the imagination of netizens with ChatGPT writing assignments, poems and codes, while answering questions like human beings. Although inaccuracies online could result in embarrassment or meme-worthy moments, AI making errors on the road can have serious consequences.

American carmaker General Motors has recalled 300 of its Cruise self-driving vehicles, weeks after one of them crashed into a bus in San Francisco.

Serious errors in judgment

• The smart cars have been pulled off the road to update the software, which made a mistake in predicting the movement of the bus.

• The firm has realised that the AI is likely to get the moves of articulated vehicles wrong, and is fixing the glitch for road safety.

• The firm has admitted that the bus was moving in a natural way, but it was the driverless car that applied brakes too late and hit the rear bumper.

Repeat offender AI?

• The crash late in March 2023, was one more instance of a crash by a Cruise smart car after an accident in June 2022 led to 80 cars being recalled.

• After people were injured in the crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also probed the software's error in predicting the path of a vehicle approaching it.

• The NHTSA stepped in after complaints about GM Cruise cars applying brakes too hard.

• Offering robotaxis in San Francisco since last year before expansion into Austin, Texas, GM's Cruise unit has been making losses but hopes to hit $1 billion in revenue by 2025.