Ethical Decisions in Self Driven Cars

This article discusses the ethical decisions involved in the development of software for self-driven cars. It explores the challenges and provides recommendations for this technology.

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ETHICAL DECISIONS IN SELF DRIVEN CARS
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Executive Summary
Self driven cars are being anticipated to be the future of the transport sector. The various
aspects of these cars are being discussed based on different perspectives that include ethics,
social, engineering, design, economical and computer science. There have been some issues
with the engineering of these cars but these are being resolved with the aid of the
advancements in the technology. The main concerns in this case are the social and the ethical
problems that are being considered as unsolvable decision making problem that is referred to
as the trolley problem. In this sphere an ethical approach is required that is in accordance
with applied engineering so that the technology fosters in the days to come. Thus the main
area that needs focus is the analysis done on the real world engineering issues that are
complex in nature and this case software plays an important role. Software being a vital part
in the control systems of these self-driving cars should be able to deal with the prevalent
ethical and social issues. In this report the ethical decisions that relate to the development of
the software of self-driven cars will be discussed. The paper will focus on the challenges in
this process and lastly provide some recommendations on the same.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Principles of ethical practice in self driven cars.....................................................................2
Basic problem solving and decision making part of self-driven cars....................................4
Complexities in the decision making process of self-driven cars......................................5
Regulatory Obligations of self-driven cars related to IT environment..................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations......................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The self driven cars are also referred to as autonomous cars and are an emerging
innovation of the present era. These cars are driverless and related to distinct domains for
example science and engineering perspectives. The technical problems in this scenario serve
as challenges and are being dealt with at present. The ethical issues are a major element in
these self-driven cars and are a topic of discussion for the engineers designing such cars.
With the applications of artificial intelligence being at the top, self-driven cars are just
another innovation. As per the research done by Hars (2015), a major part of the car
manufacturing industry are working on autonomous cars and some have already released
such cars on a commercial basis. Human errors are a significant cause of the road accidents
and this technology promises to prevent accidents by successfully replacing the human part
form the equation. As per the research done by Barabas et al. (2017), the challenges in case of
the development of the software controlling these autonomous cars are a contrary to the
promises of the technology that can be well understood from the recent case of Uber test
vehicle accident in which a pedestrian got killed due to a driverless car. The trolley problem
with respect to these self-driven cars that is considered an ethical thought experiment serves a
common example of the unresolved ethical dilemma. The ethical dimensions of the
autonomous cars decision making when in critical situation is evident. This paper will discuss
on the ethical aspects of the development of the software of the self driven cars.
Discussion
Principles of ethical practice in self driven cars
The primary question in this context is whether the ethical frameworks influence the
acceptance of the autonomous cars, especially when unavoidable accidents posing risks to
life are being considered. In this case the several issues that can be considered are whether

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people can build their trust on the self-driven cars, if the technology can be better in taking
decisions compared to its human counterparts or whether the driver should be given the
control in case the cars faces critical situations. A primary issue that remains unresolved is
that whether the autonomous cars are efficient in taking decisions and which entity is liable
for this. These questions related to the technology are still not answered and the associated
ethical issues are complicated when considering the fact that autonomous cars might act as a
moral proxy with regard to its human users. As per the research done by Bonnefon, Shariff,
and Rahwan (2016), the ethical and the social dilemmas that are associated to these cars are
of concern and the concern lies in the fact that what part of the responsibility can be shared in
between the humans and the machines. Based on the technology involved in these cars there
are numerous factors which act as a primary role with regard to the concept of the self-driven
cars among people. The question which is of major concern is about the ethical expectations.
As per the research done by Gogoll and Müller (2017), utilitarianism is what is being
expected from the machines and it is the simple value of life models approximating the
decisions taken by the humans. The question that arises is that whether all the autonomous
cars inculcate the utilitarian ethics and in an unavoidable situation stick to a strategy that
harms the least. The decision taken at that point should be addressed to whom: the passengers
in the self driven cars or the pedestrians are also an important question. As per the research
done by Lin (2016), there needs to some mandatory ethics setting in the cars running on this
technology instead of individual ethics with respect to the manufacturing companies as the
self-driven cars are being considered to be a part of the society in future. The ethical aspects
that are related to the machines are a primary issue and in case of the self-driven cars, it is
required to make an integration of the ethics in the algorithms that deal with decision making.
As the dilemma of life and death is related to the self-driven cars it is a challenge to integrate
ethics in the algorithms. The dilemma that is whether to kill the passengers or the pedestrians

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has a significant impact on the overall acceptance of the autonomous cars. As per the research
done by Maurer et al. (2016), public might accept the utilitarian autonomous cars but prefer
buying cars that are human driven owing to the risks associated and the ethical dilemma. A
more organized view that is enable to recognize the inbuilt systems and associated
relationships needs to address the ethical concerns. As per the research done McBride (2016),
the ethical aspects pertaining to the trust, privacy and security issues in autonomous cars are a
complex part of this technology. The security and the privacy aspects have a direct effect on
the cars’ operation and the infrastructure that supports thus malicious manipulation could in
some cases go against the cars’ decision process and ethics (Etzioni and Etzioni 2017). This
may lead to a difference in the behavior of the self-driven car from the original ethics it had
been programmed with.
Basic problem solving and decision making part of self-driven cars
Developing autonomous cars which are driverless refers to substitute a human
performing the complicated task of driving, with a computerized system that is capable of
executing the same. There is a difference in both the scenarios above when the feedback loop
is considered. While humans learn from their own mistakes, in the latter case the automotive
software might be affected by the slow updates. As per the research done by Koopman and
Wagner (2016), the approaches with the self-adaptive software, for example machine
learning approaches that are effective in providing immediate responses, target to overcome
the above said constraint. The extraordinary traffic signs such as, newly developed signs that
the cars’ software is not acquainted with poses a risk as it will be passed uninterrupted while
in case of a human driver it could have been understood through interpretation (Salem et al.
2015). The process of decision making in the self-driven cars can be implemented in the
following method. The initial step is to be well aware of the environment that is detecting the
obstacles for example buildings, humans or animals at the same time the present context of

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the autonomous car making use of the external systems such as the street signs, GPS, maps
and many more or the information that is locally available such as speed and direction. In
order to collect the essential informations, different sensors need to be used as detailed
information about the obstacles around could help take decisions necessary to avoid these
obstacles so that damage caused can be minimized (Jo et al. 2015). The software on which
the self-driven cars run calculate the solutions and the solution that has optimal outcome is
chosen by the computerized system. The autonomous car executes the optimal solution and
this process repeats itself.
Complexities in the decision making process of self-driven cars
The sensors used in order to detect the objects around that are around the self-driven
cars differs based on the manufacturers. The software involved in controlling the operations
of the car plays the major function in decision making. In case of these cars the software is
dependent on distinct disciplines for example parallel computing, machine learning and
computer vision along with some of the external services (Song, Xiong and Chen 2016). In
order to calculate a decision a complex process is followed and testing of these in case of real
world situations is difficult. As per the research done by Schwarting, Alonso-Mora and Rus
(2018), the basic problem is that the calculations are done relying on the abstraction of real
world that approximately represents the situations of the real world.
Regulatory Obligations of self-driven cars related to IT environment
Regulation refers to the act of enactment of certain binding rule by the public
authority. A government wanting to regulate self-driven cars needs to examine the
obligations to the IT environment and can make modifications on the existing laws so that its
application is clarified related to the autonomous cars (Estl 2015). It could find out the
regulatory functions in the manufacturing agencies meant to perform the same. With respect

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to the IT environment government can promulgate a significant package of standalone
regulations that exclusively deal with the self-driven cars. It could certainly give the authority
so that these rules are implemented to a majorly limited group of existing agencies. The
government could differentiate between the automated and the non-automated cars in
accordance with specific obligations, liabilities and rules. A general approach is more
appropriate in automated cars as these are becoming more widespread. The main concern
with the self-driven cars is that it gives rise to ethical issues that relate to privacy and
security. As per research done by Barabas et al. (2017), the software on which the self-driven
car is based tracks the passengers and in this growing era of information technology, this
makes the passengers vulnerable to hackers. For example the self-driven cars suggest
exploring the coffee shops or the retail stores on the way to office based on your location
along with the time that an individual spends outdoors. This could probably be used by a
cyber criminal against an individual and thus there is need of obligatory regulations to be
present relating to the IT environment. The two major risks with respect to the IT
environment are as follows:
 By keeping a track of location, the self-driven cars can serve as a vital source of data
to the cyber criminals.
 Providing the convenience of accepting the first choice of the car can aid the
marketers in using an individual’s personal data for the purpose of precise marketing.
While the governments have started taking steps in order to make legislation that would
concern the self-driving cars but these seem to be ineffective when the privacy issues is
considered. The self-driven car manufacturing companies should have a certain plan to keep
the users’ data private and secure and in addition to this the users must be aware of how their
data is being used by the companies. As per the research done by Weiss and Archick (2016),
on 14 April 2016 the Declaration of Amsterdam was endorsed by the EU member states that

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related to the legislation frameworks, cross-border testing, usage of data, and exchange of
knowledge in the sphere of this emerging technology. It is preparing the European framework
for the purpose of implementation of the interoperable connected and the automated vehicles
in the year 2019.
Conclusion
In days to come this technology is going to take a strong position in the market of
automobiles. The self-driven cars will be an effective way to replace the human counterparts
and take decisions quick and fast on the basis of the situation encountered. These
computerized software that operates the cars have an ethical dimension and have a significant
impact on the acceptance of the autonomous cars. As per the discussions made above it can
be concluded that there is a need to investigate more on the ethical decisions of the software
inculcated in the self-driven cars. The practical technological solutions must be focused on
with respect to the autonomous cars and the associated social consequences considered.
Recommendations
 Investigations need to be done on the ethical aspects of the self-driven car software.
 Decision making in the self-driven cars need to be nearer to perfection as it deals with
life and death.
 Regulations to be made strict in order to safeguard the privacy and security of the
users’ data.

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References
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Umbruch (pp. 539-549). Springer Vieweg, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Barabás, I., Todoruţ, A., Cordoş, N. and Molea, A., 2017, October. Current challenges in
autonomous driving. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol.
252, No. 1, p. 012096). IOP Publishing.
Bonnefon, J.F., Shariff, A. and Rahwan, I., 2016. The social dilemma of autonomous
vehicles. Science, 352(6293), pp.1573-1576.
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setting. Science and engineering ethics, 23(3), pp.681-700.
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