The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles

Description/Paper Instructions

The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles

M.I.T. Moral Machine Exercise

The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles – M.I.T. Moral Machine Exercise

Background Information:

An ethical dilemma is a scenario where there is a choice to be made between two options, neither of which resolves the situation in a way that is fully acceptable. In such a scenario the decision-maker must make a choice between the “lesser of two evils.” Autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce the overall number of traffic fatalities by removing human error from the equation. However, considerable questions have emerged about how autonomous vehicles should be programed and regulated to navigate various real-world ethical dilemmas.

Imagine the following scenario involving an autonomous vehicle. A single passenger is riding in an autonomous vehicle that is obeying all vehicular traffic rules. The passenger has no control over the vehicle’s movement. In the path in front of the vehicle, two pedestrians are crossing the street in a crosswalk. The pedestrians are obeying all safety rules and have a green light indicating that they have the right of way. Suddenly, the autonomous vehicle experiences a malfunction and has only two options: (1) swerve off the road and kill the passenger, thus saving the pedestrians from harm, or (2) continue straight through the crosswalk and kill the two pedestrians, thus saving the passenger from harm.

When a human is involved as a driver in a traffic accident resulting in injury or death, a driver’s split-second reaction is considered random, instinctual, and non-discriminatory. The driver’s reaction is understood as being made with no forethought or malevolent intent. In contrast, autonomous vehicles are required to be programmed beforehand to determine what course of action to take. For example, a vehicle could be programmed to prioritize driver safety, or to minimize danger to others. Thus, the outcome of accidents involving autonomous vehicles would potentially be decided by programmers or policymakers long before the accident occurs.

Let’s now consider two opposing paradigms that can be applied to autonomous vehicle programming and policy. According to the ethical paradigm of utilitarianism, the most ethical course of action is the one that offers the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In this way, utilitarian ethics seeks to minimize harm to all parties involved. Thus, the ends (in this case the greatest good for the greatest amount of people) justify the means. If an autonomous vehicle were to be programed to reflect utilitarian ethics, the vehicle could seek to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In the scenario described above, the vehicle could be programmed to swerve off the road, thus killing the passenger to avoid crashing into the pedestrians.

As an alternative, another ethical paradigm is that of duty-based ethics, which suggests that the most ethical course of action is to do the right thing in the moment, regardless of the good or bad consequences that may be produced. In this way, duty-based ethics prioritizes principles over consequences. As an example, the philosopher Emmanuel Kant proposed that it is wrong to tell a little white lie in order to save a friend from being murdered. Applied to autonomous vehicles, if a vehicle were programmed to adhere to the maxim of preserving the passenger(s) of the vehicle at all cost, the vehicle could potentially kill multiple pedestrians in order to save a single passenger.

Consider briefly which of the two options you would chose (duty-based or utilitarian) if you were in charge of programming autonomous vehicles? Which type of vehicle would you prefer to be a passenger in? Would it make a difference in your decision if, for example, the passenger was your close family member or someone that you have never met? Would it make a difference if the pedestrian was a child or an elderly person? Would it make a difference if the pedestrian was a close friend or a felon bank robber?

Directions: To provide context for this exercise, we will first watch the following two brief video clips:

• The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars – Patrick Lin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIoDYVfKA0
• What moral decisions should driverless cars make? Iyad Rahwan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb-WdVA4_bo

After watching the videos, we will individually complete the online M.I.T. Moral Machine interactive exercise following the steps below and then answer the questions.

1. Navigate to the M.I.T. Moral Machine website at http://moralmachine.mit.edu/
2. Select “Judge” from the navigation options at the top of the page.
3. Each page will present you with two image options to select from. Select “Show Description” below the images to provide a detailed explanation. Select your preferred outcome by clicking on the image.
4. When you complete your selections, you will be able to view your results and compare them to those of other people that have completed the exercise.
5. Once you have completed the survey, please answer the questions below regarding your results.

Questions:

1. What is your most saved character? What is your most killed character?
2. How much does saving the greatest number of lives matter to you? How much does protecting passengers’ lives matter to you?
3. How much does upholding the law matter to you? How much does avoiding intervention matter to you?
4. Do your results indicate strong preference to a certain gender, age, fitness, or perceived social value?
5. If you were to provide your recommendation to a government regulator, would you advocate for regulation of the industry? If so, would you recommend a utilitarian or duty-based mandate?
6. Is there anything about your results that surprised you?

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RUBRIC QUALITY OF RESPONSE NO RESPONSE POOR / UNSATISFACTORY SATISFACTORY GOOD EXCELLENT Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) Zero points:  Student failed to submit the final paper. 20 points out of 50:  The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. 30 points out of 50:  The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately.  Elements of the required response may also be lacking. 40 points out of 50:  The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples.  The answer is complete. 50 points:  The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples.  No aspects of the required answer are missing. Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). Zero points:  Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. 5 out 20 points:  Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. 10 out 20 points:  References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated.  Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. 15 out 20 points:  Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented.  APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors.  There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. 20 points:  Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented.  APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) Zero points:  Student failed to submit the final paper. 5 points out of 20:  The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors  10 points out 20:  The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors 15 points out of 20:  The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. 20 points:  The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) Zero points:  Student failed to submit the final paper. 3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. 5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements.  The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper 7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. 10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper.
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