Philosopher tackles issue of whether driverless cars make ethical judgements
A Scientist and driverless car creator has employed a philosopher to determine how to teach the car to make ethical judgements.
According to The Times the Stanford University scientist, who has already created the first driverless car which can beat a human driver on a racetrack, has stressed the need for driverless cars to be flexible enough in their engineering to be able to make ethical judgements that aren't necessarily written into their programming.
The topic of driverless cars has been hotly debated ever since Google first revealed it was building a prototype, and now rumours are rife that Apple is also developing its own version.
Meanwhile the UK department for transport (DfT) has outlined its intentions to make the UK a world leader in driverless car technology, giving the green light to public trials of the vehicles.
The first wave of trials will occur in Bristol, and DfT will update the Highway Code to accommodate driverless motors before spring so they can be tested.
However, the developments appear to be in stark contrast with the general public’s opinion on driverless cars, with nearly half (43 per cent) of UK adults stating they distrust the concept, and a further fifth saying the idea “terrifies” them.
The report, conducted by uSwitch.com, surveyed 953 UK adults found that 43 per cent of respondents did not trust driverless cars to ensure the safety of passengers, other drivers or pedestrians. A further 16 per cent said they were ‘horrified’ by the entire concept of not having a human driver at the helm.