Driverless Cars

1. Driverless Cars By: Chris Broom

2. Summary • “The dream of a car that can drive itself has grown over the last decade as the necessary technologies have gradually proved their worth, but the idea has faced major legal hurdles.”1 • Benefits: safety, fuel-economy, lower insurance, multi-tasking while riding • Roadblocks: reducing size and cost of these systems, recognizing precursors to risky scenarios • Source 1: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328585.300-driverless-cars-ready-to-hit-our-roads.html

3. The 8-Step Process • Describe Ethical Issue • Should driverless cars be allowed on the road? • Who are the involved parties and what do they want to accomplish? • Universities such as Oxford and car companies such as BMW want to be able to produce and sell driverless cars • Politicians don’t want driverless cars to become common because of the risks involved • Solutions • Allow all Universities or car companies to research, produce, and sell driverless cars as desired • Ban all current and future research as well as not allow the selling of driverless cars • Create encompassing list of possible risks and require that before commercialization that all possible risks be eliminated and proven overcome by testing

4. The 8-Step Process Cont. 4. Solution Evaluation • I would be comfortable with all parties having to adhere to the compromise solution. It is a good balance because the only reason government doesn’t want driverless cars is because of the risks. This solution makes sure to eliminate those risks and then car companies get what they want because it will then ideally be safe to sell these cars. • Is this solution natural? • This solution is a balanced “real-world” solution. It is both possible and plausible. The other extreme solutions would never be able to stand on their own in this day and age. • Is it efficient? • I do believe this solution to be the most efficient and logical means to the end possible. Also this solution satisfies all parties. Both government and commercial organizations will happy because ultimately they can do what they want.

5. The 8-Step Process Cont. 7. Solution Commitment • I would still be committed to this solution whether I was a member of either party. This decision is also independently made without pressures from any groups. 8. Philosophical View • On one hand this solution tends toward the pragmatic end of the philosophical spectrum as it a compromise between the two parties which assures that all parties end up happy. • On the other hand it is pretty realistic as well. In the case of producing and selling driverless cars many risks are involved that can result in injury or even death. This solution is a means to a safe end that should end up being the best possible solution for the real-world.

6. The ACM Code • Driverless cars supported by: • 1.1.2 – Less human error means lives saved • 2.2.5 – The process is being debugged extensively • 3.3.2 – Having cars that drive themselves should improve work production in everyday life • 3.3.4 – Our solution consists of a list of objectives that need to be completed and validated