Science· 2016Q1
The social dilemma of autonomous vehicles
- 1,491citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
People want autonomous vehicles (AVs) to be utilitarian for others but prefer to ride in AVs that prioritize passenger safety, potentially hindering adoption of safer technology.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Participants approved of utilitarian AVs (sacrificing passengers for greater good) for others.
- Participants preferred to ride in AVs that prioritize passenger safety.
- Participants disapproved of enforcing utilitarian AV regulations.
- Enforcing utilitarian AV rules may slow adoption and paradoxically increase casualties.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) should reduce traffic accidents, but they will sometimes have to choose between two evils, such as running over pedestrians or sacrificing themselves and their passenger to save the pedestrians. Defining the algorithms that will help AVs make these moral decisions is a formidable challenge. We found that participants in six Amazon Mechanical Turk studies approved of utilitarian AVs (that is, AVs that sacrifice their passengers for the greater good) and would like others to buy them, but they would themselves prefer to ride in AVs that protect their passengers at all costs. The study participants disapprove of enforcing utilitarian regulations for AVs and would be less willing to buy such an AV. Accordingly, regulating for utilitarian algorithms may paradoxically increase casualties by postponing the adoption of a safer technology.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Safety Research
Safety ResearchSocial Sciences