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A car is about to hit a dozen pedestrians. Is it better for the car to veer off the road and kill the driver but save the pedestrians? Or is it better to save the driver and kill all those other people? That's the thorny philosophical question that the makers of autonomous vehicles -- self-driving cars -- are grappling with these days, and a new study sheds some light on what people actually want that car to do.
It turns out that the answer depends on whether you are the driver of the car or not. People generally think it's a good idea for autonomous vehicles to save the most lives. The study calls this a utilitarian autonomous vehicle, which fits the utilitarian moral doctrine of the greatest good for the greatest number.
Generally, people would like it if everyone would use cars that saved the most lives, even if they had to sacrifice the life of the driver to do so. With one exception.
They don't want to have to buy this kind of car for themselves.
Generally, for themselves, people would prefer to buy the vehicle that would ensure for the greatest safety for the driver and passengers.
"Even though participants still agreed that utilitarian AVs were the most moral, they preferred the self-protective model for themselves," the authors of the study wrote.
It turns out that the answer depends on whether you are the driver of the car or not. People generally think it's a good idea for autonomous vehicles to save the most lives. The study calls this a utilitarian autonomous vehicle, which fits the utilitarian moral doctrine of the greatest good for the greatest number.
Generally, people would like it if everyone would use cars that saved the most lives, even if they had to sacrifice the life of the driver to do so. With one exception.
They don't want to have to buy this kind of car for themselves.
Generally, for themselves, people would prefer to buy the vehicle that would ensure for the greatest safety for the driver and passengers.
"Even though participants still agreed that utilitarian AVs were the most moral, they preferred the self-protective model for themselves," the authors of the study wrote.
Drivers Prefer Autonomous Cars That Don't Kill Them | InformationWeek
A new study shows that most people prefer that self-driving cars be programmed to save the most people in the event of an accident, even if it kills the driver. Unless they are the drivers.
www.informationweek.com
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