For this case study, you will imagine that you are an engineer for a company that is developing self-driving technology for automobiles. Your technology will allow a vehicle to be driven without a driver under ordinary conditions. The vehicle will stay in its lane, keep a safe distance to other vehicles, stop at red lights and stop signs, and will not exceed posted speed limits. However, as you know, everyday driving, especially in congested urban areas, is rarely ordinary. Delivery vehicles frequently double-park and block off lanes, people driving motorized scooters and e-bikes routinely ignore stoplights, and pedestrians frequently cross the street without paying attention.

To be safe and effective, your technology must be able to deal with all of these non-routine driving tasks. Imagine this scenario: A vehicle using your self-driving technology is proceeding down a street in a large city late at night. It is carrying three passengers in the back seat.

The vehicle is going at a speed of 25 miles per hour, which is the posted speed limit in this area. The vehicle approaches an intersection and the light is green. Suddenly, someone runs directly in front of the vehicle. It is too late to stop. Your self-driving technology must make a choice: Swerve right. If this choice is taken, the vehicle will smash into a parked car, avoiding the pedestrian, but damaging two vehicles and possibly injuring the vehicle’s occupants. Swerve left. If this choice is taken, the vehicle will move into oncoming traffic from the other side of the road, avoiding the pedestrian but possibly causing a head-on collision with another vehicle. Continue straight. Your vehicle will apply the brakes but will not stop in time to avoid hitting the pedestrian.

The pedestrian will be injured, perhaps fatally. In your response to this case study, write a paper USING YOUR OWN WORDS, answering ALL of the following questions using the specific facts from the scenario above. DO NOT DO OUTSIDE RESEARCH! I WANT TO KNOW YOUR OPINIONS! Only use our book. (Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues Vincent Ryan Ruggiero) Don’t just put the questions down and then put an answer. This is an APA paper after all. Make sure your paper flows! Start here: Which way should the car swerve? Use specific facts to answer. Use an ethical theory or concept that we have learned or are learning this week to support your decision. What ethical considerations/ethical theories are most important in this situation?

Consider the fact that the technology does not have a conscience, but humans do. How would a human solve this dilemma? Use conscience along with natural endowment and social conditioning from OUR READING to answer this! Define these ethical concepts per our book and analyze them using the specific facts above! Remember use specific facts from the scenario above.

Part 2:

Include another ethical theory or concept (different from the first one you used) that we have learned so far and analyze it using the specific facts from the scenario. Remember, USE YOUR BOOK! Generally, the ethics of self-driving cars are determined by the engineers, LIKE YOU, who work on the car’s technology. What they deem right or wrong determines how the car will act in certain situations like accidents. But, the majority view would ask who is the right person or organization to decide the ethics of self-driving cars? Is it the engineers, LIKE YOU, who worked on the car technology? Is it the government of the country where the vehicle will be driven? Take the devils advocate position if you can! As the designer of this self-driving technology, is your sole ethical responsibility to the occupants of the vehicles that use it?

Why or why not? Are there other stakeholders (people involved) that you need to consider? What if there was only one person in the self-driving vehicle, and there were three pedestrians?

Would this change the decision your technology should make? What ethical theory/ethical concept, other than conscience or social conditioning, that we learned about this week would apply to your answer? Why or why not? Which choice “should” your technology make and why? This is your conclusion! This paper should be no more than two pages, excluding the title page and APA style reference page. Remember cite your book using a reference page using APA style. You should double space your paper.

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