Ethical Issues and Social Effects of Self-Driving Cars

This essay discusses the ethical issues and social effects of self-driving cars. It explores the lack of ethical values and self-control in self-driving cars and the consequences of such technology.

Network Management in Organisations
Student Name
Institution

Introduction
Driverless cars are the technology of the future. First, we have to understand what a self-driving
car is. These are vehicles that use various technologies such as radars, AI’s, cameras and sensors
to navigate and move between one points to another without a human being operating it [1]. The
cars operate like normal cars do and on the same roads and terrain except without a human being
actually being inside it. There are several advantages associated with the development of this
technology as well as disadvantages. Some of the advantages that experts believe will be there
are reduction in accidents and hence reduction in loss of lives [2]. There are also disadvantages
that come with this kind of technology such as loss of employment in the taxi industry and public
transport. We cannot discuss about the disadvantages without bringing in the ethical issues
arising with the development of this technology. Self-driving cars don’t have emotions or
instincts like a human being. It cannot make choices and decisions which can be deemed moral
by the society. Such ethical issues that may arise include questions like: if a child were to
suddenly jump in front of an oncoming self-driving vehicle and there was no time to stop, should
the car swerve to the other side of oncoming traffic and cause an accident which may cause harm
to other motorists or does the car swerve to the pedestrian’s side injuring them or does it just go
ahead and cause an accident to the child [3]. These are some of the ethical dilemmas that may
arise with the use of self-driving cars. They cannot make judgements on a particular thing
instantly or act according to their emotions. All their commands and actions are preconfigured
hence cannot make decisions outside what has been configured to them. In this essay, I am going
to discuss the ethical issues arising from this technology, the social effects and the consequences
of self-driving cars

In our discussion on self-driving cars we discuss whether there are ethical values involved. These
are actions that are used by a particular society to guide how people should act and behave
morally. They are like guidelines as to how the society expects people to act [4]. Ethical values
determine what is right and wrong. In this discussion, I will bring out how self-driving cars don’t
have the ethical values that are characteristic of human beings.
Ethical Values Identifications
I will discuss two values that are associated with the use of self-driving technology. These
include:
Caring. This is an ethical value that human beings should have. People should care for one
another and be their neighbor’s keeper [5]. They should show kindness and concern to others.
Even in driving, some drivers are caring to the passengers they carry. Since cars are machines,
they are not compassionate and they do not have any feelings. Therefore, they cannot make any
judgments morally. They cannot show compassion like humans do. For example, if a passenger
was to get hurt while in a normal vehicle, the driver of the vehicle may do first aid to the
passenger in order to save that person. We have heard other cases whereby passengers who are in
labor give birth with the help of drivers while on their way to the hospital. Also, another instance
is that sometimes burglary may occur inside a vehicle and the driver might act and prevent his or
her passengers from getting robbed. This shows that the drivers care about the well-being of their
passengers. They are compassionate and hence help them in their time of need. On the other
hand, self-driven cars are not caring and do not show concern for the passengers they are
transporting [6]. If passengers were to injure themselves while in a self-driven car, they would
not get any help easy. The car would have to reach the nearest emergency services in order for
the passenger to get help. Also, if a passenger was to be robbed while in a self-driven car no one
will be there to assist them. The lack of a driver may give robbers moral to hijack the car
especially if the passenger is all alone [7]. This is because there is no one to help them.
Therefore, self-driven cars cannot be compassionate or care about the wellbeing of their
passengers.
The other ethical value is self-control. Self-control is one of the most important ethical values a
person should have. It makes one have discipline which may also lead to earning respect in the

society. Humans have the ability to control their behavior and actions [8]. This is important
because it makes them unique and also can make them relate well with others. Some drivers
when angered or receive abuse from them will have the self-control to steer the car and park it
and deal with the problems that may arise. Self-control is important in driving because drivers
can tolerate some of the passengers that may be abusive. This is what human beings do so as to
avoid errors due to anger or they may cause accidents. In the case of self-driven cars, their self-
control depends on the pre-configured commands that have been put in place [9]. If someone was
to tamper with the commands, the car may malfunction hence can cause accidents. If a hacker
was to hack the systems of the self-driven car, he or may be able to do very huge damages to the
company and also to people. Accidents may occur and also people may get stuck in unknown
locations if the car malfunctions [10]. The cars when tampered with cannot make decisions on
their own. From this discussion, I can say that the car does not have control. It cannot prevent
another person controlling it. The hacker will have full control of the car and even the passengers
themselves cannot do anything about it. Self-driven cars unless they have a backup driver, cannot
have self-control. The way they are coded and how they think is because of the codes and
algorithms that have been put in place to guide [11]. All is needed to gain control of them is just
to hack into the system and give your own commands. Humans cannot be controlled to that
extent. They have the will to refuse some commands and also act on them accordingly. Therefore
self-control is an important ethical value that drivers and all humans should have as with self-
control the human drivers will be able to exercise their everyday skills and judgement by
reacting to various situations occurring on the roads in avoiding things that could affect other
people’s lives. Based on the programming aspect of the self-driving vehicles, it will be easy for
anyone with such knowledge to manipulate the program into causing problems such as accidents.
Therefore, the self-driving vehicles can be termed to be insecure and can be manipulated by
criminals or terrorists to cause accidents that may lead to massive loss of lives and property. This
goes against the ethical nature as technology is not supposed to endanger the lives of its users but
rather to improve it.

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