Page - (000094) - in Autonomes Fahren - Technische, rechtliche und gesellschaftliche Aspekte

Why Ethics Matters for Autonomous Cars82 In future autonomous cars, crash-avoidance features alone won’t be enough. An accident may be unavoidable as a matter of physics [12, 13], especially as autonomous cars make their way onto city streets [19, 21, 25], a more dynamic environment than highways. It also could be too dangerous to slam on the brakes, or not enough time to hand control back to the unaware human driver, assuming there’s a human in the vehicle at all. Technology errors, misaligned sensors, malicious actors, bad weather, and bad luck can also contribute to imminent collisions. Therefore, robot cars will also need to have crash-optimization strategies that are thoughtful about ethics. If ethics is ignored and the robotic car behaves badly, a powerful case could be made that auto manufacturers were negligent in the design of their product, and that opens them up to tremendous legal liability, should such an event happen. Today, we see activists campaigning against “killer” military robots that don’t yet exist, partly on the grounds that machines should never be empowered to make life-and-death decisions [31, 35]. It’s not outside the realm of possibility to think that the same precautionary backlash won’t happen to the autonomous car industry, if industry doesn’t appear to be taking ethics seriously. The larger challenge, though, isn’t just about thinking through ethical dilemmas. It’s also about setting accurate expectations with users and the general public who might find them- selves surprised in bad ways by autonomous cars; and expectations matter for market acceptance and adoption. Whatever answer to an ethical dilemma that industry might lean towards will not be satisfying to everyone. Ethics and expectations are challenges common to all automotive manufacturers and tier-one suppliers who want to play in this emerging field, not just particular companies. Automated cars promise great benefits and unintended effects that are difficult to pre- dict, and the technology is coming either way. Change is inescapable and not necessarily a bad thing in itself. But major disruptions and new harms should be anticipated and avoided where possible. That is the role of ethics in innovation policy: it can pave the way for a better future while enabling beneficial technologies. Without looking at ethics, we are driving with one eye closed. References 1. Anderson, J., Kalra, N., Stanley, K., Sorensen, P., Samaras, C., Oluwatola, O.: Autonomous ve- hicle technology: a guide for policymakers. Report by RAND Corporation. http://www.rand.org/ pubs/research_reports/RR443-1.html (2014). Accessed 8 July 2014 2. Associated Press. ATM ‘glitch’ gives $37,000 to lucky homeless man. Daily Mail. http://www. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2596977/ATM-glitch-gives-OVER-37-000-homeless-man-cash-re- quested-140.html (2014). Accessed 8 July 2014 3. Baldor, L.: China hacked the Pentagon to get weapons data. Talking Points Memo. http://talking- pointsmemo.com/news/china-hacked-the-pentagon-to-get-weapons-programs-data (2013). Accessed 8 July 2014 4. Cathcart, T.: The Trolley Problem, or Would You Throw the Fat Guy Off the Bridge? Workman Publishing Company, New York (2013)