When thinking of modern, obtainable innovation one thing that may come to mind are self-driving cars. Once thought the realm of purely science fiction, protypes and models of these cars are already on the roadways. But this new technology brings with its drawbacks as well as benefits, and these often lead to arguments between supporters and their opposition. One of the most debated topics is the safety of self-driving vehicles and the moral obligations that go along with making the vehicle safe.
Some people argue that self-driving cars would be safer, while others believe that self-driving cars would pose a bigger danger. On the pro side there is the idea that based on test already done that because self-driving cars have been involved in less accidents, many of which were caused by human drivers’ mistakes (Baase, Henry 448). On the cons side there are multiple arguments, such as the fact that if a person is not actively focused on driving the car, they will likely not be attentive enough if an actual incident occurs that would warrant their assistance (Baase, Henry 444). Another con argument is that computer systems can and often are faulty, they can fail and put people in serious, maybe even fatal, danger (Baase, Henry 431). Every new technology has its benefits and its drawbacks, and there will always be a debate when it comes to new technology and safety concerns.
When discussing self-driving cars brings up ethical questions. You can program a car to choose between hitting a person in the street or swerving and hitting a person on the sidewalk, but are there moral implications in this decision? How could programmer bring themselves to write this code, knowing it may one day be put into effect? On a broader ethical concern, should cars be totally autonomous, or should people be allowed to take control? Would it be dangerous to allow a person to take control of a car if they think it is making the wrong decisions? These questions cannot be easily answered, they require much thought and should be considered as the development of self-driving cars moves forward.
But what if something goes wrong with the self-driving car and it causes an accident, who should hold the blame? While legally all liability would fall solely on the company, ethically both the programmers and the manufacturer should be held responsible. While programmers are often put under unreasonable pressures to perform quickly (Baase, Henry 451), this does not excuse allowing of possibly fatal bugs into the code for a self-driving car. Some bugs may even be caused simply by human error, but when it comes to things like cars there is no room for error. Manufacturers also share the blame because once a they release something with their name on it, they take full responsibility for both its successes and its failures. A company should not release a product that they are not totally confident in, and if they do release a product with serious or even deadly bugs, they are then responsible. Likewise, a programmer should not release code that is not fully and properly tested, especially not when the results could be deadly.
There are many arguments for and against self-driving cars, and safety, ethical dilemmas, and possible issues are just a few of them. But despite many of the drawbacks of self-driving cars and their safety, I myself would still be confident enough to drive on roadways with them and ride in them. All new technology can be dangerous, especially technology as big, heavy, and fast as a car, but new technology pushes society forward. They are part of the future. There will be accidents, and bugs, and ethical questions that must be resolved, but these things cannot keep people from innovation.
