Brand-new world of artificial intelligence

Much remains to be done to show that driverless cars are safe, and much safer than human drivers. One panelist pointed out people are willing to forgive human mistakes at the wheel but not mistakes made by machines. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to change the look and feel of downtowns. The need for street parking space and parking garages will be reduced if not eliminated. That will open up a significant amount of land which can be used for housing or open space. Ideally, with fewer cars on the road, there should be separate lanes for bikes, scooters and pedestrians. Jobs will be lost in the process. In addition to Lyft and Uber, four million truck drivers could be replaced by robots over an extended time.

On health care, there are privacy concerns over one’s medical data and how it will be shared. But a panelist pointed out we don’t own our medical data. We may see parts of it online but it belongs to the organization which took our blood, our X-ray, our MRI. Soon you can get your genome test, which predicts disease, etc. at a reasonable price. Faster data collection will make it easier to find new cures. Robots assist surgeons now. Surgeons are smarter but robots can do some of the smaller and trickier procedures better. But don’t expect robots to completely replace surgeons any time soon. In fact it was felt a partnership of human and robots is the best way to go. For example, top medical care via AI can enable people who live in rural areas to share photos of their ailments or tell about it and receive expert advice on what to do.

This is the library’s second panel discussion on how technology is impacting our lives and institutions. Last year, the focus was on how libraries should function in the digital age. Were they even necessary now with ebooks? The resounding answer from the technology representatives was that libraries are more important than ever. But the panel also stressed the importance of making some changes in library space to accommodate the needs of the digital age. And so the library is beginning a series of renovations to do just that after opening its doors 10 years ago.

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More on those tricky ballot measures. The Sierra Club and the League of Women Voters are opposing Proposition 3, the water bond. For somewhat different reasons, the San Francisco Chronicle is also recommending a NO vote: “this scheme was devised as an initiative that is being funded in part by individuals and entities that are going to be receiving a share of the bond money. The pay-to-play aspect in itself should give voters ample reasons to vote no.

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The race for state superintendent of instruction — Tony Thurmond versus Marshall Tuck bears watching. Thurmond was elected to the state Assembly in 2014, is a former member of the Richmond City Council and school board. The Richmond school district is one of the most troubled in the state. He is running with strong support from the California Teachers Association and Democratic party. A candidate for this job usually needs the support of CTA to win but past superintendents have come with stronger resumes. Wilson Riles, for example. And Tom Torlakson was a well-respected former assemblyman and state senator for many years before term limits as was Jack O’Connell. The superintendent is supposed to represent students, teachers and parents and be the state’s education leader. Tuck’s main priority is the student and improving academic achievement. He almost won the last time. Let’s hope he makes it this time around.

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Best way to understand ballot propositions is to attend Pros and Cons presented by League of Women Voters at the San Mateo Public Library, 1 p.m. Oct. 16.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.