Alec Gremer
University of South Florida
LIS4414.001U23.50440 Information Policy and Ethics
Dr. John N. Gathegi,
June 12th, 2023
“The Ethical Dilemma of Self-Driving Cars”: A Policy and Ethical Case Study Analysis
Self-driving cars are now an advanced technology with the potential to revolutionize how we travel around. Self-driving cars provide a variety of ethical, legal, and information technology policy challenges, though, in addition to the promises of enhanced safety, less traffic, and increased accessibility. For the purposes of analysis, ten sites that offer insights into the complex field of self-driving automobile technology will be examined. The informational materials offered give insight on the ethical, legal, and information technology policy concerns regarding self-driving cars. The main issues include accountability for algorithms, human-machine interaction, liability, safety, and regulatory frameworks. To ensure the ethical, safe, and responsible use of autonomous vehicles in society, these issues must be resolved.
The TED-Ed lesson “The Ethical Dilemma of Self-Driving Cars” by Patrick Lin introduces the moral conundrums self-driving cars face, concentrating on the difficulties in implementing moral decision-making in autonomous vehicles.
The video’s main ethical challenge addresses the issue of moral decision-making being programmed into self-driving cars. Although self-driving cars are designed to do as little harm as possible, Lin observes that there are some circumstances in which “harm to others or the passenger is unavoidable” (Lin 2015). This presents important issues on how self-driving automobiles should prioritize the safety of various people involved in potentially fatal circumstances. In addition, Lin emphasizes that “self-driving cars don’t have the human ability to make moral choices” (Lin 2015) and stresses the difficulties in formulating general moral standards for these machines’ programming.
Important legal problems are also raised by the ethical conundrums of self-driving cars. “Liability will be a major issue” (Lin 2015) in incidents involving driverless vehicles, according to Lin. When a vehicle is not being driven by a human, determining culpability becomes difficult. Lin notes that “makers and programmers of self-driving cars could be liable for accidents” (Lin 2015). This highlights the requirement for new legislation that specifies the division of liability and accountability in collisions involving autonomous vehicles, ensuring that all parties involved are subject to the law.
The material deals on algorithmic responsibility as well as information technology policy concerns related to self-driving automobiles. According to Lin, “the algorithms of self-driving cars need to be transparent and accountable” (Lin 2015). Building public trust and making sure autonomous vehicle decision-making processes are clear and equitable both depend on transparency. The importance of answering issues like “Who decides what ethical decisions the car should make?” (Lin 2015) and “How should these algorithms be audited and certified?” (Lin 2015) is emphasized by Lin.
The potential advantages of self-driving automobiles, such as improved safety and improved accessibility, are highlighted in the Brookings article. It highlights the requirement for thorough policy frameworks to deal with the legal and regulatory issues raised by autonomous vehicles. These frameworks ought to take liability difficulties, privacy issues, cybersecurity hazards, and the possible workforce effects into account. The material underlines the necessity for legislation to resolve liability issues on the legal front. There is a statement that says, “A legislative solution will need to specify how liability for accidents involving autonomous vehicles is determined” (Karsten 2016). To protect the rights of all parties involved, it is essential to establish precise rules for determining who is to blame and who is accountable in incidents involving self-driving cars. The resource emphasizes the significance of data privacy and cybersecurity in regard to information technology policy concerns. It states, “Policies will need to ensure that consumer data is protected and not used for nefarious purposes” (Karsten 2016). Robust cybersecurity measures and privacy regulations should be in place to safeguard sensitive information collected by autonomous vehicles.
The Brookings study examines the legal ramifications of autonomous vehicles. The topic of product liability in incidents involving autonomous vehicles is the main emphasis of this article. Legislation must address how liability is allocated in such situations given the change in responsibility from human drivers to autonomous systems to ensure justice and accountability. The report makes the following recommendation: “To the extent possible, the law should allocate liability for the consequences of accidents involving autonomous vehicles in a way that parallels the current law” (Karsten 2017). It highlights the requirement for legislation that makes the division of responsibility clear and assures accountability and justice. It also emphasizes the difficulties of assessing responsibility when human drivers are no longer in charge. The analysis argues that “to the extent possible, the law should allocate liability for the consequences of accidents involving autonomous vehicles in a way that parallels the current law” (Karsten 2017). It underlines the requirement for law that makes the division of responsibility clear and guarantees justice and accountability.
This article emphasizes the dangers of over-reliance on semi-autonomous vehicle technology. While these systems offer convenience and safety features, there is a risk of drivers becoming complacent or disengaged from the driving task. Policies should encourage driver vigilance to prevent potential accidents resulting from driver distraction or misuse of autonomous features. The resource states, “Automakers have a responsibility to communicate to consumers the limits and capabilities of their semi-autonomous systems” (Villasenor 2014). Policy measures should encourage responsible usage and emphasize the shared responsibility between drivers and autonomous technology.
The continuous safety issues that autonomous vehicles are encountering are highlighted in this site. Autonomous vehicles are not yet as safe as drivers on the road, despite their potential. When considering how and when self-driving cars should be used on public roads, taking into account their present limits and potential risks to road users, ethical issues come into play. The resource’s legal issues center on liability for accidents involving autonomous vehicles. “Determining who is at fault for a crash involving an autonomous car can be tricky” (Hsu 2017), the statement reads. When it comes to handling situations when technology is at fault, conventional liability models might not be sufficient. Establishing legal frameworks is necessary to establish culpability and guarantee that those in charge of creating, producing, and using self-driving vehicles would be held liable in the event of an accident.
The website emphasizes the information technology policy concerns around the security of self-driving cars. It underlines how crucial it is to thoroughly test and validate a technology before using it. According to the article, “Many researchers agree that self-driving cars must be at least 10 times safer than human drivers before they are deployed on a large scale” (Hsu 2017). To protect public safety, policies and regulations should demand extensive safety testing, certification procedures, and continual performance monitoring of self-driving car performance.
Concerns regarding the lack of transparency in the development of self-driving cars are also raised by the resource. To enable impartial safety assessments and hold manufacturers responsible, it proposes that “companies should be required to publish information about their cars’ performance” (Hsu 2017). For the public to have confidence in the safety of self-driving cars, transparency in technology development and information exchange is essential.
The next article talks about California’s regulatory framework for self-driving cars, which covers the issuance of licenses for testing autonomous vehicles. Policymakers must strike a balance between promoting innovation and ensuring public safety through appropriate law, monitoring, and continuous assessment of autonomous systems. The article tackles the moral issues raised by the use of autonomous vehicles. According to the article, “self-driving cars must be designed and programmed to prioritize the safety of all road users” (Spectrum 2019). This raises concerns about how autonomous vehicles should make decisions in complex scenarios when it’s important to compromise between several safety issues. Self-driving cars must be developed and programmed with ethical considerations in mind to make sure that their behaviors prioritize safety and are consistent with society norms.
The difficulties self-driving automobiles encounter when accurately detecting and reacting to bicycles on the road are raised by this resource. Keeping bikers and other vulnerable road users safe is a matter of ethics and safety. To reduce the possible risks involved with sharing the road with autonomous vehicles and bicycles, technological improvements and governmental initiatives should address these issues. The article claims that “Cyclists are vulnerable road users, and their interactions with autonomous vehicles raise complex ethical issues” (Spectrum 2019). Self-driving cars face an ethical conundrum when they must make split-second judgments that compromise the security of vulnerable road users like bicycles. Programming self-driving cars to prioritize the safety of cyclists and other vulnerable road users is necessary to address these problems. Policy initiatives should concentrate on creating efficient human-machine interfaces and user-centered design concepts that promote safety, usability, and public acceptance in order to ensure the successful integration of self-driving automobiles into society.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website has details on the safety characteristics of automated vehicles. It highlights the agency’s role in developing policies and conducting safety assessments for the creation and application of autonomous vehicles. Policy issues include promoting stakeholder cooperation in order to enable the safe deployment of self-driving cars and the ongoing evaluation of their safety performance. The NHTSA is crucial for creating safety standards, conducting research, and collaborating with business stakeholders to generate regulatory guidelines. The source claims that “NHTSA is committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to develop and deploy automated vehicle technologies that advance safety while providing appropriate regulatory oversight” (Lynberg 2018). Legal frameworks must address liability, data privacy, cybersecurity, and other legal challenges to guarantee public safety and responsibility.
The ethical and legal issues surrounding algorithms employed in autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars, are highlighted in the ACM statement on algorithmic accountability. Transparency, equity, and potential biases in decision-making algorithms are major issues. To avoid biased outcomes in the deployment and use of self-driving cars, policy measures should assure accountability, transparency, and the mitigation of algorithmic biases. The resource emphasizes the moral issues raised by self-driving cars’ usage of algorithms. To assure fairness and eliminate any biases, it highlights the necessity of accountability and openness in algorithmic decision-making. According to the resource, “Ethical considerations are raised when algorithms produce results that are biased, violate privacy, or otherwise negatively affect individuals or groups” (ACM 2017). When algorithms make choices that could jeopardize people’s rights, privacy, or safety, ethical problems result. It is necessary to create ethical frameworks and norms that control the creation and use of algorithms in self-driving automobiles in order to allay these worries.
The next TED Talk highlights the ethical concerns that are presented by online “filter bubbles,” or the content and information that is personalized to each individual depending on their online behavior and interests. People are concerned about how filter bubbles may affect people’s access to different ideas, information, and their ability to make good decisions. Eli Pariser writes that “this moves us very quickly toward a world in which the Internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see” (Pariser 2011). An ethical dilemma is created by the manipulation of information and consumers’ ignorance of the biases and limitations of the content they consume. To combat the detrimental impacts of filter bubbles, it is necessary to encourage transparency, diversity, and user empowerment in order to address these ethical issues.
Self-driving cars have a lot of potential to increase transportation safety and effectiveness. To ensure their responsible and ethical deployment, however, ethical, legal, and information technology policy issues must be resolved. The assignment of liability, safety restrictions, regulatory frameworks, human-machine interaction, and algorithmic accountability are among the major issues. Policymakers may encourage the use of self-driving cars while preserving public trust and safety by proactively addressing these challenges.
