Disadvantage: cannot judge unexpected situations

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. An automated system meets a situation its program does not cover. What does it do?

A It uses common sense to work out a new plan

B It follows its program, even if that is not the best action

2. A driverless car's sensors detect a strange object it has never been programmed for. What is the likely problem?

A It may not know how to react safely

B It will always decide the safest action by itself

3. Which statement about sensors is correct?

A A system can sense anything that happens nearby

B A system can only react to what its sensors can detect

4. Which is a disadvantage of automation?

A It cannot use human judgement in unexpected situations

B It gets tired and makes mistakes after a long shift

5. Why do people still need to oversee an automated system?

A They can step in when something unexpected happens

B The system cannot run without a person pressing every button

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1IF obstacle_detected = FALSE THEN drive()		AWrong: the car only follows its program and sensor data, so it cannot use human judgement to decide what to do about an unusual obstacle.
2ELSE stop() // no rule for this case		BIF distanceSensor < 5 THEN brake()
3The system can only react to the data from the sensors it has, so it cannot notice anything those sensors do not measure.		CIF unusualEvent THEN alertHuman()
4People are still needed to oversee the system and take control when something unexpected happens.		DWhen the program has no rule for a new situation, it can only run its default action instead of thinking for itself.
5A driverless car will always decide the safest action when it meets an unusual obstacle.		EThe system only checks what its sensors report, so an unusual obstacle it was not programmed for may not be noticed.
6Once an automated system is running, no person is needed to watch it.		FWrong: people are still needed to oversee the system because it cannot handle unexpected situations by itself.

Definitions

cannot judge unexpected situations

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

__ distance < 5 THEN brake() ENDIF

IF distance _ 5 THEN brake() ENDIF

IF obstacle = ____ THEN brake() ENDIF

IF object = "car" THEN brake() ____ go() ENDIF

IF object = "unknown" ____ alert_human() ENDIF

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A WHILE car_is_on THEN

B distance ← READ(sensor)

C IF distance < 5 THEN

D brake()

E ENDIF

F ENDWHILE

Question 2

A obstacle ← READ(camera)

B IF obstacle IN known THEN

C avoid(obstacle

D ELSE

E alert_human()

F ENDIF

Question 3

A unknown = TRUE

B IF unknown = TRUE THEN

C alert_human()

D ENDIF

Question 4

A REPEAT

B reading ← READ(lidar)

C IF reading = unknown THEN

D alert human()

E ENDIF

F UNTIL car_stopped = TRUE

Question 5

A reading ← READ(camera)

B known ← FALSE

C IF known = TRUE

D continue_drive()

E ENDIF

Answer Key

Disadvantage: cannot judge unexpected situations

Section A: Quick Questions

B — It follows its program, even if that is not the best action

A — It may not know how to react safely

B — A system can only react to what its sensors can detect

A — It cannot use human judgement in unexpected situations

A — They can step in when something unexpected happens

Section B: Match the Pairs

IF obstacle_detected = FALSE THEN drive() → The system only checks what its sensors report, so an unusual obstacle it was not programmed for may not be noticed.

ELSE stop() // no rule for this case → When the program has no rule for a new situation, it can only run its default action instead of thinking for itself.

The system can only react to the data from the sensors it has, so it cannot notice anything those sensors do not measure. → IF distanceSensor < 5 THEN brake()

People are still needed to oversee the system and take control when something unexpected happens. → IF unusualEvent THEN alertHuman()

A driverless car will always decide the safest action when it meets an unusual obstacle. → Wrong: the car only follows its program and sensor data, so it cannot use human judgement to decide what to do about an unusual obstacle.

Once an automated system is running, no person is needed to watch it. → Wrong: people are still needed to oversee the system because it cannot handle unexpected situations by itself.

Section C: Definitions

cannot judge unexpected situations — An automated system only follows its program and sensors, so it has no human judgement when something unexpected happens (like an odd obstacle). People are still needed to oversee it.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF distance < 5 THEN
    brake()
ENDIF

IF distance < 5 THEN
    brake()
ENDIF

IF obstacle = TRUE THEN
    brake()
ENDIF

IF object = "car" THEN brake()
ELSE go()
ENDIF

IF object = "unknown" THEN
    alert_human()
ENDIF

Section E: Spot the Error

A — THEN belongs to an IF statement. A WHILE loop has a condition and no THEN, so the line should be WHILE car_is_on = TRUE.

C — The closing bracket is missing from the procedure call. It should be avoid(obstacle). The program can only avoid obstacles it already knows, so unknown ones go to a human.

A — In pseudocode the assignment arrow ← stores a value in a variable. A single = is used for comparing, so the line should be unknown ← TRUE.

D — A procedure name cannot contain a space. It should be alert_human(), which calls a person to deal with the unexpected situation.

C — The IF statement is missing THEN. The line should be IF known = TRUE THEN.