-- from above --

(in fact in some parts of the world they are already deployed but these are special cases where the speed limits are low and on specific routes- such as a shuttle services between two parts of an airport). And this should give you some impression of just how advanced AI currently is.

Lastly, if after reading all this you really do believe that an AI couldn't possibly operate a sub then I challenge you to provide, from your knowledge of having talked to submariners, just three examples of something that you believe a captain of a sub can do that an AI in twenty years time won't be able to do.

*(I should point out here that driving a car is something that obviously requires way more concentration and continual hands-on-control than safely sailing a vessel in an ocean. When sailing the open ocean, about the only thing you can hit are other vessels. Since the other vessels are typically km's away and moving at slow/moderate speeds (compared to a car) you have plenty of time and space to manoeuvre in. And these days almost all large vessels are equipped with an array of instruments and automatic guidance/warning systems to tell you exactly where every other vessel is and where they're heading to and whether there is any chance of a collision. Automating a ship for sailing is a piece of cake compared to automating car driving. Again, as I've said, ships are now capable of being COMPLETELY automated- that cargo ship in Norway will be operating with NO crew on board in just a few months.)

thinkabit,

All of which confirms, in my mind, that the Govt has had that advice from it’s thinkers and that the French subs were going to be worse than obsolete and that the nuclear subs are only a hopefully vote getting smoke screen designed to fool the voters and the workers in SA..
One thing that the human controlled subs can do that an AI controlled one won’t, is run aground by accident.

Issy, one thing that appealed to me about the French subs was the open air Promenade Deck one could take advantage off whilst cruising under water.

BTW, at the end of 'Soylent Green', Edward G Robinson was given a bowl of strawberries as his final wish.

Paul1405

Your unfunny flippancy continues to waste everyone's time.

Your standards have dropped badly to pathetic Tweet point scoring.

Hi thinkabit

It may be useful to combine you AI future viewing with the most advanced large undersea drone which is Echo Voyager

- in my 2016 article http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-echo-voyager-lduuv-great-for.html it was already advanced - useful for towing sonars, reconnaissance, particularly in shallow waters too dangerous for manned submarines.

and

- its still improving rapidly

See http://www.boeing.com/defense/autonomous-systems/echo-voyager/

"Echo Voyager’s advanced autonomy allows it to operate effectively in clear and congested waters without physical human contact.

Endurance: Echo Voyager’s range covers 6,500 nm (1 fuel module) allowing the vehicle to perform long endurance operations.

Host ship independent: Echo Voyager is not launched from or recovered to a support vessel, nor does it require a support vessel for operation.

Modular: The 51-foot-long [Echo Voyager] is designed to incorporate a modular payload section for multiple uses up to 34 feet in length and 2000 cubic feet in volume, and can include payloads extending outside of its envelope.

Navigation: The [Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle's [XLUUV’s] navigation system features a proven Kalman filtered Inertial Navigation Unit supported by Doppler Velocity Logs and depth sensors offering superior directional accuracy.

Powered by a hybrid combination of battery technology and marine diesel generators, Echo Voyager is truly a game-changing platform, capable of performing as a multi-mission system and playing a pivotal role in future force structure."

plantagenet,

And there is the future writ large, aircraft are almost autonomous and can take off, journey and land without human hands being on the controls.
All the technology is there and twenty years from now will be well nigh out of sight.

Twenty years ago if someone had told me that I could sit in my lounge room and have a face to face conversation with my son in Ireland, in real time, and he could walk around his garden and shew me how his veggies were doing, then I probably would have considered it a joke, if not a serious delusion.

Times are ever changing.

Anyone remember Dick Tracy’s wrist radio?