The jobs killer is coming: How driverless trucks could change Australia

This essay analyses the ethical implications of using driverless trucks in Australia on the basis of four classical theories of ethics: Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue, and Contract.

Running head: TOPICS IN IT ETHICS
Topics in IT Ethics: The jobs killer is coming: How driverless trucks could change Australia
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TOPICS IN IT ETHICS
The jobs killer is coming: How driverless trucks could change Australia
Introduction
Driverless cars are one of the most technologically advanced inventions which can
devastate Australia. With the advent of the driverless vehicles, majority of the truck drivers can
looses their jobs. Furthermore, the safety passengers boarding the driverless vehicles or cars are
at stake. The driverless vehicles that are guided by the robot drivers are expected to replace the
human drivers as the robot drivers do not need food or sleep. However, with the increase in use
of the robot drivers, it is not only the drivers who will lose their job but also the businesses that
are link with the truck drivers including the service stations, cafes and food joints will lose their
job (NewsComAu, 2018). Therefore it is essential to evaluate whether it is ethically correct to
make use of the driverless cars or trucks (Shapiro, Stefkovich & Gutierrez, 2014). The purpose
of this essay is to analyse the situation on basis of four classical theories which are Utilitarian
theory, Deontological theory, Virtue theory and contract theory. These theories will help in
analysing whether the use of driverless vehicles is ethical or not.
The Situation
The driverless vehicles are considered as the jobs killer since it can practically replace the
truck drivers from their jobs. Along with the drivers, for making the situation worse, the
businesses that are linked with the truck drivers will lose their jobs as well since the human
drivers are their permanent customers. Since the robot drivers do not need food or sleep, the
roadside food joints, service stations and coffee shops are expected to run out of their business.
The outlook in the transport sector of Australia prove that the almost all goods that are
produced in Australia are needed to be transported to the final customer. Therefore, it is obvious

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that a large number of people are engaged with the business of truck drivers. Now, if robots are
taking the place of the truck drivers, it is expected that a large number of people will run out of
their jobs (Abney, 2012).
Not only the jobs of thousands of people are at stake, the use of the autonomous vehicles
questions the safety of the goods and passengers (Goodall, 2014). Since a vehicle is being driven
by a robot, there are large chances of unforeseen accidents that might result in loss of human
lives. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate whether the use of the driverless vehicles is ethically
correct or not.
The Four Classical Theories of Ethics
The four classical ethical theories are theory of utilitarianism, deontology, virtue, and
contract (Shafer-Landau, 2014). According to the theory of utilitarianism, an act will be morally
and ethically correct as long it produces greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of
people (Broad, 2014). On the other hand, the theory of deontology focuses on the rightness and
wrongness of the actions as opposed to the rightness and wrongness of the consequences of the
same action. Theory of virtue emphasizes on individual’s character as the key element associated
with an ethical thinking (Audi, 2012). The contract theory of ethics states that a philosophy or an
act only if it is agreed upon by a larger section of the society.
Considering the case of driverless vehicles that can claim jobs of thousands, it is essential
to analyse whether the act of using a driverless vehicles is ethical or not.
The Analysis

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Use of autonomous vehicles is not a new practise and use of such vehicles definitely
makes the life of human easier. With the increasing advancement in the technological field, it is
essential to evaluate whether the use of the autonomous vehicles really acts as a boon to
mankind. Considering the case of driverless trucks in Australia, it is essential to think wether the
use of such vehicles really gives the same output as expected? Not only the jobs of thousands of
people (or even more) will be at stake, it can risk the life of human as well. However advanced a
technology is, no one can guarantee that a driverless vehicle will not claim the lives of human
(Ferrell et al., 2013). One wrong analysis and the robot driving the vehicle can turn self
destructive.
Utilitarianism Theory
Analysing the situation on basis of the Utilitarianism theory, the use of driverless vehicles
is unethical (Mill, 2016). This is because, according to the theory of Utilitarianism, an act is
ethically correct only if it is doing well for greatest number of people. Although the use of
driverless vehicles will reduce the transport cost by a huge margin, it will claim the jobs of
thousands of truck drivers and can claim the lives of people as well (Lefkowitz, 2017). Therefore
this act is unethical on basis of theory of Utilitarianism.
Deontology Theory
Theory of deontology focuses on the rightness and wrongness of an action instead of the
rightness or wrongness of the consequences. The action of using driverless vehicles is itself
wrong since it is capable of claiming thousands of jobs. Although the consequence of this action
may not be wrong, as the use of driverless trucks are capable of reducing the transport costs of

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the materials within Australia, it will be claiming the jobs of thousands of people. Therefore, this
act or situation is unethical on basis of deontology theory as well.
Virtue Theory
The theory of virtue focuses on an individual’s character as key element of ethical
thinking. Thinking of using driverless vehicles that is capable of making thousands of people
jobless is ethically wrong. Virtue ethics mainly focuses on the character development of
individual and their acquisition of good characters, they develop. Although the use of driverless
trucks is capable of reducing the transport cost by a considerable amount, it will claim the jobs of
all the truck drivers in Australia. It does not reflect a good virtue or a good character
development of individual and therefore the situation is completely unethical on basis of virtue
ethics.
Contract Theory
The use of driverless vehicles will not be accepted by a greater number of people in the
society since it is not only claiming thousands of jobs; it will possibly put the life of thousands of
people in danger. From the perspective of social contract theory, a moral system only comes into
play by virtue of certain contractual agreements between the individuals of a society. Contract
theory of ethics furthermore, gives an individual, motivation for being moral. Claiming the jobs
of thousands of people of Australia is neither ethical nor moral. In the perspective of contract
theory, the self interest of an individual in developing a moral system gets the priority and it does
not support claiming the jobs of the truck drivers. Therefore, use of driverless vehicles is not
ethically correct.
Conclusion

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The essay gives an overview of the four classical ethical theories and analyzes a situation
on basis of that theory. With the increasing use of technology, the use of driverless vehicles is
expected to increase as well. However, if robots are given to drive the trucks in order to reduce
the transport cost, thousands of human truck drivers and the businesses associate with them will
lose their jobs as well. Therefore it may not be ethically correct to make use of the driverless
vehicles. The four classical theories of ethics do not permit the use of such vehicles as well.

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References
Abney, K. (2012). Robotics, ethical theory, and metaethics: A guide for the perplexed. Robot
ethics: The ethical and social implications of robotics, 35-52.
Audi, R. (2012). Virtue ethics as a resource in business. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(2), 273-
291.
Broad, C. D. (2014). Five types of ethical theory (Vol. 2). Routledge.
Ferrell, O. C., Crittenden, V. L., Ferrell, L., & Crittenden, W. F. (2013). Theoretical
development in ethical marketing decision making. AMS review, 3(2), 51-60.
Goodall, N. J. (2014). Machine ethics and automated vehicles. In Road vehicle automation (pp.
93-102). Springer, Cham.
Lefkowitz, J. (2017). Ethics and values in industrial-organizational psychology. Taylor &
Francis.
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven Masterpieces of Philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
Shafer-Landau, R. (2014). The fundamentals of ethics.
Shapiro, J. P., Stefkovich, J. A., & Gutierrez, K. J. (2014). Ethical decision making. Handbook of
ethical educational leadership, 210.
The jobs killer is coming. (2018). NewsComAu. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/travel/the-jobs-killer-is-coming-how-
driverless-trucks-could-change-australia/news-story/
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