Self-driving cars programmed to decide who dies in a crash

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Blame will still be placed as it is with a human driver.

Makes me wonder what to do with an autonomous vehicle in case it kills someone, since it doesn't seem that easy to put it under arrest

[freebeard]

Autonomous vehicles will be part of a (politcally neutral?) hive mind. Pulling the plug on a single instantiation will be like stepping on an ant vs pouring molten aluminum into the anthill.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by freebeard

pouring molten aluminum into the anthill.

What kind of childhood did you have?

[freebeard]

My parents grew [primeval-looking] castor beans in the garden and we made mounds of dirt under them, with crumbled up sparklers we set off, with plastic disousaurs arranged around them.

Isn't the molten aluminum is more a kids-these-days thing?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Makes me wonder what to do with an autonomous vehicle in case it kills someone, since it doesn't seem that easy to put it under arrest

If the crash was due to negligent autonomous design, then a punitive punishment may be levied against the company, just as coffee that is too hot can cost McDonalds millions. If the crash was not due to negligence, then insurance will compensate the victim. In either case, insurance will pay. Premiums will be lower when the number of accidents decrease.

The beauty of these failures of autonomous design is that the parameters leading to the accident can be analysed and a correction can be published to all other vehicles. Everyone learns from the mistakes of everyone, whereas we humans tend not to learn from others mistakes. Another driver going too fast and hydroplaning teaches me nothing about how to handle the situation; I must learn it for myself.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If the crash was due to negligent autonomous design, then a punitive punishment may be levied against the company, just as coffee that is too hot can cost McDonalds millions. If the crash was not due to negligence, then insurance will compensate the victim. In either case, insurance will pay. Premiums will be lower when the number of accidents decrease.

The problem is that finding out who's guilty in an accident involving autonomous-driving would become too subjective. For example, if a judge and the engineer responsible for an autonomous car could have attended the same school, and the engineer used to bully the judge. You know, it's impossible to get totally rid of the human factor. Even if an autonomous vehicle gets fully computer-designed without human interference, and the engineer who developed the AI software could get screwed.

[Xist]

Yes, engineers are notorious bullies.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Xist

Yes, engineers are notorious bullies.

TBBT is funny. But anyway, it's hard to take the human factor totally out of anything.

[Xist]

Have you tried removing the humans? Just post a sign on a cliff saying "Free wifi ahead."

[gone-ot]

"Electronic Lemmings"?