Ethical Considerations
If the aspiration of self-driving vehicles is ever to come to fruition, they will need to be able to mimic the human thought process in order to operate in a responsible manner. But with the complexity of the human mind it becomes very difficult to reduce this process to a series of mathematical equations. Patrick Lin explores this complication of ethics as it relates to autonomous vehicles in his article “Why Ethics Matters for Autonomous Cars” by looking at some of the more acute sections of their programming. At such an early juncture in the development process, Lin makes no presumptions of having answers but instead raises concerns regarding this dilemma.
One concern that arises is when a situation that may require
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the saving one individual’s life over another presents itself, what is the protocol that the car will follow. Lin gives an example to set a baseline for his concern: Imagine in some distant future, your autonomous car encounters this terrible choice: it must either swerve left and strike an eight-year old girl, or swerve right and strike an 80-year old grandmother. Given the car’s velocity, either victim would surely be killed on impact. If you do not swerve, both victims will be struck and killed; so there is good reason to think that you ought to swerve one way or another. But what would be the ethically correct decision? If you were programming the self-driving car, how would you instruct it to behave if it ever encountered such a case, as rare as it may be? Provided that this future technology will be able to make the distinction between the two individuals and not identify them as two identical beings, then most rational minds would agree that a choice should be made rather than leaving it to chance. However, Lin contends that neither choice would be ethical “according to the relevant professional codes of ethics.” In section 7.8 of the IEEE code of ethics states “to treat fairly all persons and to not engage in acts of discrimination based on race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.” To make a decision based on any of these characteristics would be out of the question when it comes to creating this technology.
Even if there were some discernable reason that would sway the decision one way or the other, would one consider it a choice to take one individual’s life or to save another? This question goes beyond the example given and relates to scenarios in which one vehicle may have to make a choice between crashing into one vehicle or another. The decision to be made in such a case leads to what Lin refers to as “targeting.”
Suppose a situation arises in which a vehicle must choose between crashing into a small car or a large truck. Logic dictates that the vehicle crash into the truck as the occupants of the truck would likely survive. But when the safety of the vehicle’s occupants is at stake, it becomes more complex. If the vehicle’s primary objective is its own passengers’ safety, then logic would dictate that the vehicle crash into the car. Automakers would likely program vehicles with the protocol of the former. This would be a prime example of “targeting” as Lin describes
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it: The ethical point here, however, is that no matter which strategy is adopted by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), i. e., auto manufacturer, programming a car to choose a collision with any particular kind of object over another very much resembles a targeting algorithm….The owners or operators of these targeted vehicles bear this burden through no fault of their own, other than perhaps that they care about safety or need an SUV to transport a large family. Regardless of whether or not there is a right or wrong answer, auto manufacturers will have to make a choice on what protocol to install in their vehicles. The decisions that these companies must make cannot possibly appease everyone. Perhaps the best option for the auto industry is to manage the public’s expectations technology in these vehicles. Conclusion Following an examination of self-driving vehicles, it is apparent that there are a multitude of complications that relate to autonomous technology.
Through the trials and tribulations of the autonomous vehicles of the past to the technological advancements of today and the ethical implications of future technology, one thing is certain; self-driving cars are well on their way to becoming the norm in society. Are these machines in the best interest of society? With the knowledge of these complications preceding any final products, allowing for any problems to be resolved ahead of time, one is obliged to arrive at the conclusion that autonomous vehicles will benefit future
generations.
In the most extreme of situations, it demands the weaker person to be scarified for the greater good. Its principles, therefore, are characterized by two elements, happiness and consequentialism (Utilitarianphilosophy, 2010). These principles of utilitarianism can be applied to either particular actions or general rules, with the latter being referred to rule utilitarianism, and the former act utilitarianism (Cavalier, 1996). Harsanyi (1985, 115) states that ‘’act utilitarianism is the theory that a morally right action is one that in the existing situations will produce the highest expected social utility’’, thus it is about determining what actions brings the best results or the least amount of bad results. An example of such an act would be the assassination of a political figure, i.e. John Fitzgerald Kennedy or Martin Luther King. Rule utilitarianism, on the other hand, is ‘’the theory that a morally right action is simply an action conforming to the correct moral rule applicable to the existing situation’’ (Harsanyi 1985, 115). Thus rule utilitarianism looks at the
When we consider the case of the Ford Pinto, and its relative controversy, through the varied scope of ethical viewpoints, the results might surprise us. From a personal standpoint, as a consumer, the idea of selling a vehicle to the masses with such a potentially devastating flaw is completely unethical. When we consider the case from other directions and other ethical viewpoints, however, it makes it clear that often ethics are a matter of perspective and philosophy. It’s also clear that there are cases where more information will muddy the waters, rather than clear them.
There are a huge number of details that need to be worked out. My first thought is to go with the utilitarian approach and minimize the loss of life and save the greatest number of people, but upon farther reflection I started to see the problems with it. The utilitarian approach is too simplistic. It raised all kinds of questions such as will the computer make any decisions as to fault when it makes the decision on what to do. For example, if I am in the car with my young child, and three eighty-year-old drunks wander out in front of my car because they are drunk by their own choice, is the car going to choose them over me and my child because there are three of them? I would not want the computer to make that decision for me because frankly I probably would not make that decision. That kind of computer decision would probably curtail many people including me from buying a self-driving car. It is the same paradox that MIT Review refers to when it says, “People are in favor of cars that sacrifice the occupant to save other lives—as long as they don’t have to drive one themselves” (“Why
Self-driving cars are now hitting a few roadways in America, and are showing people just a small glimpse into what could be the future of automobiles. Although Google’s self-driving cars are getting a lot of attention now, the idea of a self-driving car has been around for quite a while actually. These cars have been tested to their limits, but the American people have yet to adopt the technology into their everyday lives. A brief description of their history, how they work, and finally answer the question, will self-driving cars ever be adopted widely by the American public?
Companies like Google, Tesla and Nissan, among others, have announced over the past few years that their companies are trying to develop self-driving or autonomous cars [Ref. 1 and 2]. Self-driving cars can provide many benefits to the average consumer. Studies have shown that because computers can react and process information many times faster than a human being, crashes on streets and roads can be decreased with quick and consistent evasion maneuvers by the autonomous car. They can also help maximize fuel economy by calculating the most direct and fastest routes. When the driving of an autonomous car demonstrates that the computer can safely and reliably transport the passengers to their destination, this frees up the passengers to do other things that they would not normally be able to do if they were driving the car manually. For this reason, self-driving cars can help maximize productivity of their passengers.
Since the advent of autonomous technology, self-driving cars have been expected to be the best solution to optimizing daily commuting efficiency meanwhile significantly reducing or even preventing traffic accidents and fatality by rectifying and removing possible human errors on the road. As the deeper research goes on, however, the ethics of driverless cars become a major concern: self-driving cars must make their own decisions at any circumstances, which also means that such vehicles must be pre-programmed to respond ethically to certain emergencies. Concerning quite broad range of ethical issues, such algorithms should be rather convoluted. Without any perfect solutions so far, social expectation of ethical principles should be a logical
While many people are all about autonomous cars and the benefits that they will bring to society, there are people who oppose driver less cars. Google has faced major censure from critics that are uneasy with the method that the automobile will u...
Now, I am very intrested in cars and I love almost every aspect of them, but did you know, that each year 1 million, people die each year from car accidents? And 81% of these accidents are caused by human error? 1 million people, gone like that. Fortunately, there's a new technology that dramastically decrease this number. This technology is self-driving cars. A self-driving car is a car that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. Currently, about 33 companies including Tesla, BMW, and Google, are working to create self-driving cars that can prevent human errors and change the way people view driving. Self-driving cars, have other benefits besides preventing human error, such as less traffic congestion, and less fuel consumption. However, with these benefits come some costs such as cyber security problems and ethical dilemmas. So, should we have self-driving cars, or not?
In the past couple years, there has been a greater drive in making cars more technology based. The solution: self-driving cars. There are many different views on these new cars. Personally, I don’t think that they are practical. Self- driving cars are expensive and will not even expunge the risk of car accidents.
In July 12, The New York Times reported a news: “Inside the self-driving Tesla fatal accident”, which again caused enormous debates on whether self-driving cars should be legal or not.
Self-driving cars are the wave of the future. There is much debate regarding the impact a self-driving car will have on our society and economy. Some experts believe fully autonomous vehicles will be on the road in the next 5-10 years (Anderson). This means a vehicle will be able to drive on the road without a driver or any passengers. Like any groundbreaking technology, there is a fear of the unforeseen problems. Therefore, there will need to be extensive testing before anyone can feel safe with a vehicle of this style on the road. It will also take time for this type of technology to become financially accessible to the masses, but again alike any technology with time it should be possible. Once the safety concern has been fully addressed
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.
Although auto cars offer many advantages, there are arguments against the use of these vehicles. First stands the possibility of conflicting ethical issues. If a self driving
Automotive ethics is a subject that is often over looked. Not many people tend to look at what is ethical in the automotive industry; most people are generally satisfied if they can get a good deal on a car. However, in reality, automotive ethics has an affect on how automobiles are made, what regulations the government puts on them, and their hazard on the environment. Before the engine was invented, life revolved around a much more complicated system of transportation. Much advancement in technology has been made to make the common lifestyle today much easier; a few examples are cellular telephones and onboard navigation systems in automobiles. Cellular telephones and navigation systems have become an everyday item, but nobody looks at the dangers that can have while operating a motor vehicle.
AI, otherwise known as artificial intelligence, is a computer system programmed with tasks that usually require human intelligence. Programmed with specific instructions and code for tasks to do, AI is a step away from humans. Robots are mainly programmed to do tasks such as: putting cars together, building toys to be shipped and doing repetitive work humans would rather avoid. AI, though, is more than putting products together. The ethical dilemma of AI stems from the differences superintelligence has from humans. Because of AI’s capability of tasks, it might be the last invention made by humans. Reasons AI hovers above us in technological processes includes: