Should your driverless be allowed to car kill you?

[glhs837]

the idea comes from here...

http://gizmodo.com/should-your-driverless-car-kill-you-to-save-two-other-p-1575246184/+matthardigree

So, they are coming, if you doubt it, you are not paying attention. How soon, who knows, but top end models from Mercedes and BMW already have the basic capabilities built in. So, then comes the question, who decides how the crash algorithms work and what choices they make? I always advocate that drivers never stop driving, no matter how bad, if you have control left at all, you keep fighting for the "best crash you can get". Choose the parked cars over the lady pushing the stroller. Hit the dog versus the kid. Don't swerve to miss a deer and hit a phone pole. So many people just mentally check out once they percieve they are going to be in a crash, plant a foot on the brake pedal, freeze at the arms and ride it in.

We, autonomous cars wont have that luxury, their programming will do what people should do, not give up until all motion has stopped. They can distinguish pedestrians from cars, and hence the question. Given that a crash is going to hit pedestrians at a killing speed, and the only option is to swerve and hit an object that might kill you like a building or oncoming truck, what does the car do?

 

[Larry Gude]

the idea comes from here...

http://gizmodo.com/should-your-driverless-car-kill-you-to-save-two-other-p-1575246184/+matthardigree

So, they are coming, if you doubt it, you are not paying attention. How soon, who knows, but top end models from Mercedes and BMW already have the basic capabilities built in. So, then comes the question, who decides how the crash algorithms work and what choices they make? I always advocate that drivers never stop driving, no matter how bad, if you have control left at all, you keep fighting for the "best crash you can get". Choose the parked cars over the lady pushing the stroller. Hit the dog versus the kid. Don't swerve to miss a deer and hit a phone pole. So many people just mentally check out once they percieve they are going to be in a crash, plant a foot on the brake pedal, freeze at the arms and ride it in.

We, autonomous cars wont have that luxury, their programming will do what people should do, not give up until all motion has stopped. They can distinguish pedestrians from cars, and hence the question. Given that a crash is going to hit pedestrians at a killing speed, and the only option is to swerve and hit an object that might kill you like a building or oncoming truck, what does the car do?

That's an awesome question.

Hmmm...

My first thought is that accidents, period, being, what, 95% human error, will be so greatly reduced as more and more vehicles are non human operated that the few cases that do come up will attract every ambulance chaser on the planet to the scene and then, one of these drones cars will self destruct, nobly sacrificing itself, for the greater good of all man kind.

Something to consider...

 

[glhs837]

The stereo cameras in an the newer luxury cars can distinguish people, no reason it cant distinguish little people over big people. Can it be told that it's better to choose the one on a walker vs one in a stroller? You can end up down the moral rabbit hole pretty fast. And yes, the lawyers are going to go nuts about this stuff. "Sir, your programming chose to kill Wingy, the very last spotted owl over Lil' Johhny, one of about 50,000 5 year olds...."