Suspected Nash-equilibrium ethics for the proprietary collision avoidance algorithm:
Utilitarian: minimize negative publicity for the car maker.
Resulting Asimov-like deontology: 1) Avoid collisions with the same make cars 2) Maximize survival of the vehicle’s occupants, disregarding safety of the other vehicle involved, subject to 1) 3) Minimize damage to the vehicle, subject to 1) and 2)
Utilitarian: minimize negative publicity for the car maker.
The US is a litigious society. I suspect that minimizing damage from wrongful-death lawsuits will be more important than minimizing negative publicity.
In fact, I don’t think self-driving cars can become widespread until the “in any accident, sue the deep-pocketed manufacturer” problem gets resolved, likely by an act of Congress limiting the liability.
Maybe yes. The expression “litigious society” implies comparison with other societies, presumably less litigious, and the article you quoted is entirely silent on the topic, spending most of its words on rehashing the notorious McDonalds coffee case. And it does conclude with saying that the fear of litigation in the US is pervasive and often reaches ridiculous levels.
Suspected Nash-equilibrium ethics for the proprietary collision avoidance algorithm:
Utilitarian: minimize negative publicity for the car maker.
Resulting Asimov-like deontology:
1) Avoid collisions with the same make cars
2) Maximize survival of the vehicle’s occupants, disregarding safety of the other vehicle involved, subject to 1)
3) Minimize damage to the vehicle, subject to 1) and 2)
The US is a litigious society. I suspect that minimizing damage from wrongful-death lawsuits will be more important than minimizing negative publicity.
In fact, I don’t think self-driving cars can become widespread until the “in any accident, sue the deep-pocketed manufacturer” problem gets resolved, likely by an act of Congress limiting the liability.
Well, maybe not. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/24/america-litigious-society-myth
Maybe yes. The expression “litigious society” implies comparison with other societies, presumably less litigious, and the article you quoted is entirely silent on the topic, spending most of its words on rehashing the notorious McDonalds coffee case. And it does conclude with saying that the fear of litigation in the US is pervasive and often reaches ridiculous levels.