Accelerating Level 4 Autonomy
The automotive industry has been abuzz with the promise of autonomous driving for years, but recent advancements have finally brought this vision closer to reality. Level 4 autonomous driving, which enables vehicles to handle all driving tasks within specific operating zones without human intervention, is becoming increasingly viable. This is largely due to six key AI breakthroughs: foundation models, end-to-end architectures, reasoning models, simulation, compute power, and AI safety. These breakthroughs have been instrumental in accelerating the development of Level 4 autonomy, which systematically removes human error, the cause of the vast majority of crashes. For instance, foundation models can tap into internet-scale knowledge, allowing vehicles to reason their way through unprecedented scenarios, such as a mattress in the road or a ball rolling into the street. This is similar to how humans learn to drive, bringing their cumulative life experience to the endeavor. ...
