Should we embrace self-driving cars?
Background
A self-driving car is a vehicle that can sense its environment and move safely with little or no human input. Possible uses of the technology include personal vehicles, shared robotaxis, and long-distance trucking.
Several projects to develop a fully self-driving commercial car are in various stages of development. Waymo became the first service provider to offer robotaxi rides to the general public in Phoenix, Arizona in 2020. Tesla has said it will offer subscription-based “full self-driving” to private vehicle owners in 2021, and Nuro has been allowed to start autonomous commercial delivery operations in California in 2021. (Source)
Discussion Questions
1. How should self-driving cars be programmed to make moral decisions in life-and-death situations?
2. Who should be held responsible for accidents involving self-driving cars?
3. How could infrastructure pitfalls cause problems for self-driving cars?
4. What goals should manufacturers of self-driving cars be required to meet before making their products available to the public?
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