Driverless ethics
The tragic death of a Florida woman struck by a driverless Uber has revived public interest in robot ethics. How do these cars make decisions in life and death situations? Are they transparent enough about the standards?
Such questions will be asked more and more as the age of autonomous vehicles approaches. Perhaps you could program it yourself. Highly Ethical Cars would take almost no risks and take two hours to get to work. Minimally Ethical Cars would run red lights and get there in five minutes. It’s going to be an interesting debate.
Michael Cook
Whose ethics will you choose?
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driverless cars
Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.
Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
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