[ExI] Autonomous car ethics

BillK pharos at gmail.com
Thu Jun 23 22:16:34 UTC 2016


Should a self-driving car kill its passengers for the greater good –
for instance, by swerving into a wall to avoid hitting a large number
of pedestrians? Surveys of nearly 2,000 US residents revealed that,
while we strongly agree that autonomous vehicles should strive to save
as many lives as possible, we are not willing to buy such a car for
ourselves, preferring instead one that tries to preserve the lives of
its passengers at all costs.

<http://www.gizmag.com/driverless-car-ethics/43926/>

Quote:
As the researchers explained, this problem is a glaring example of the
so-called tragedy of the commons, a situation in which a shared
resource is depleted by individual users acting out of self-interest.
In this case, even though society as a whole would be better off using
utilitarian algorithms alone, an individual can still improve his
chances of survival by choosing a self-preserving car at the cost of
overall public safety.
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BillK




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