The Role of Ethics in the Design and Regulation of Autonomous Vehicles

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: In this thesis, I will explore the current ethical debate surrounding autonomous vehicles. I explore the following research questions: 1. What legislation already exists regulating the design and use of autonomous vehicles, and how, if at all, does ethics play a part in these laws? 2. Is ethics perceived as an important factor or consideration for AVs? 3. What common themes or patterns of discourse emerge in discussion of AVs and related ethical challenges? 4. What specific concepts are seen as the most important or relevant when discussing AVs? 5. With regard to AVs facing ethically challenging scenarios, what differences in attitude can be observed among different groups of people? Utilitarianism is the most common system of ethical thought referenced when discussing the ethics of AVs, probably due to its relative simplicity and familiarity. Indeed, utilitarianism proved to be a strong enough value to override even an otherwise consistent moral philosophy, although when utilitarian ideals are not at stake people tend to default back to thinking in terms of who is in the wrong, rather than how many people are affected. However, people were considerably less in favor of a utilitarian AV when faced with the idea of riding in one themselves. This discrepancy will need to be addressed and overcome if utilitarian AVs are to become mainstream.

Type of resource	text
Date created	2016

Author	Harvey, Vienna
Primary advisor	McGinn, Robert

Subject	Vienna Harvey
Subject	Stanford University
Subject	Program in Science Technology and Society
Subject	STS
Subject	Autonomous Vehicles
Subject	Honors Thesis
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/hz852tf4851

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Stanford University, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Honors Theses

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