Should self-driving cars protect pedestrians or passengers?

As with any major new invention, driverless cars will no doubt reveal many technological quirks that don’t become noticeable until people start using them en masse. But one thing they could more bring with them is a moral dilemma. If the cars have to make a decision on which lives to put at risk, what should they choose?

The results of a recent study on the topic is almost a case study on a moral conflict that is fundamental to being human. When given the example that an autonomous vehicle might one day have to choose between protecting its passengers or protecting pedestrians – whose spot on the sidewalk may be the only place the car can swerve to safeguard its passengers – most people would make the decision based on which option would put fewest people at risk. Naturally, the driver thinks differently.

“Most people want to live in in a world where cars will minimize casualties,” said Iyad Rahwan, an associate professor in the MIT Media Lab and co-author of a new paper outlining the study. “But everybody wants their own car to protect them at all costs.”

This is what researchers call a “social dilemma,” in which people could put their own self-interest first and put everyone else around at risk, despite being generally of the belief that the cars should be as pedestrian friendly as possible.

“If everybody does that, then we would end up in a tragedy… whereby the cars will not minimize casualties,” Rahwan adds.

The researchers also write in the paper that: “For the time being, there seems to be no easy way to design algorithms that would reconcile moral values and personal self-interest.”

Could this put us off switching to driverless cars?

The dilemma is highlighted further by the fact that most people said they would be unlikely to buy a car that bases its decision on risking the fewest casualties, despite that being the respondents’ best option when they are not hypothetically placed in the car. They would also not want the government to regulate that cars should act in such a way.

The paper, named The social dilemma of autonomous vehicles and published in the journal Science, is authored by Jean-Francois Bonnefon of the Toulouse School of Economics; Azim Shariff, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon; and Rahwan, the AT&T Career Development Professor and an associate professor of media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab.

“This is a challenge that should be on the mind of carmakers and regulators alike,” the researchers wrote. They were also concerned that such a moral consideration could put consumers off buying something that overall would be safer than regular cars and could save more lives in the long run.

Because driverless cars are in their infancy in terms of public use, the experts admit there is still time for perceptions to change about the devices.

Nevertheless, Rahwan said, “I think it was important to not just have a theoretical discussion of this, but to actually have an empirically informed discussion.”

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Image credit: Google

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