[ExI] [Bulk] Self-Driving Cars Must Make Ethical Decisions

[William Flynn Wallace]

On Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 2:48 PM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

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> *From:* extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] *On
> Behalf Of *William Flynn Wallace
> *Sent:* Wednesday, July 29, 2015 12:00 PM
> *To:* ExI chat list
> *Subject:* Re: [ExI] [Bulk] Self-Driving Cars Must Make Ethical Decisions
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> >>…introducing the technology too slowly poses ethical problems of its
> own for we know there are people with drivers licenses who shouldn't have
> them…spike
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> >…I vote for:  the car won't start if you have an illegal alcohol
> content.  (Would have saved me a night in jail and a lot of money back in
> my stupid(er?) days).  bill w
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> Alternative, the car will start and will take the passenger home upon
> positive identification, but will ignore all inputs to controls from inert
> drunk.  Or insist that the drunk get in the back seat.  If there are two
> drunks appropriately oriented, good chance they would welcome that anyway.
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> On the other hand, that poses new ethical dilemmas.  The drunkard is spam
> in a can once that trip home starts.  It is unclear to me what happens if
> the drunk decides to not go home, for any number of perfectly legitimate
> reasons (robocar arrives at home and drunkard and sees mother-in-law’s car
> in the driveway, or passenger has a medical emergency just as she passes
> the hospital, watching helplessly as it recedes in the mirror, etc.)  I
> don’t think we can arrange for a car to work against the passenger’s
> wishes, even if the car knows the carbon unit is impaired.
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> Tough problem.  I think we need to offer the option to drinkers and dopers
> to have their car take them to the stable without further instructions.
> Horses used to do that in the old days.
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> spike
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​Or you could program the car with several options, such as hotel,
mistresses' house​

​, friend's.  For med emergency you just tell the car to park and call
911.

​bill k - I'm so old I owned a horse that would "do the right thing" on its
own under
certain circumstances. Never tested being drunk, though.

You or the horse?  bill w

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