Authors:
Konstantina Marra
;
Ilias Panagiotopoulos
and
George Dimitrakopoulos
Affiliation:
Department of Informatics and Telematics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
Keyword(s):
Autonomous Vehicles, Ethical Dilemmas, Trolley Problem, Social Aspects, Thought Experiments.
Abstract:
Autonomous vehicles are studied in terms of technology and economics, but there is also a social component to be discussed. Whereas technical challenges are being resolved and great progress is being made in their design, social and ethical issues arise, with legal and philosophical aspects, which must be addressed. Following this trend, the present study focuses on exploring peoples’ views concerning ethical dilemmas related to the behaviour of autonomous vehicles in road accidents. In addition, liability issues in cases of such accidents are examined. On this basis, a questionnaire based survey is conducted, aiming at investigating the views of future owners of autonomous vehicles on liability and on the decisions, which such vehicles should make in the event of an unavoidable road accident. The above is achieved through a series of thought experiments, which reveal how potential consumers solve different versions of the Trolley- problem in two cases: with and without the option of
equal treatment. The present analysis treats the risk of accidents as inevitable and tries to prevent public reactions which could stall the adoption of autonomous vehicles, by revealing peoples’ perceptions of morality, which in the future could contribute to creating more ethical and trustworthy autonomous vehicles.
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