Self-Driving Cars: Ethical Responsibilities of Design Engineers

Abstract

In the wake of the exposure of Volkswagen's diesel engine test-rigging, a Bloomberg Business journalist described the company as "driven by engineering-crazed executives" [2] and The New York Times ran a story noting how with today's complex computer systems in automobiles, there are numerous opportunities for misdeeds both by automakers and hackers [3]. With the advent of so-called autonomous or self-driving cars, such issues may become even more pervasive and problematic. From a legal perspective, a key focal point is who would be at fault if and when an accident occurs [4]. Much also has been written about the ethical complexities posed by self-driving cars [5]-[6]. In accordance with Moore's Law, "[a]s technological revolutions increase their social impact, ethical problems increase" [7]. Yet relatively little has been said about the ethical responsibilities of the designers of self-driving cars.