Whose life will save an unmanned car in an accident?
Scientists at Bologna University are struggling to solve the dilemma: in the event of an unmanned vehicle accident whose life will be at stake - the passengers of the car or other participants in the movement (drivers and pedestrians)? As a result of research, scientists came to the conclusion that this difficult question, in the literal sense, of life and death can be solved by equipping autonomous vehicles with a conditional “ethics toggle switch”. Such a device will work in three modes: egoism, total altruism, and impartiality.
In the world of modern technology, where a technician performs a number of duties for a person and decides according to settings, the ethical dilemma has become more complicated - whose life will an unmanned car sacrifice in the face of a catastrophe? Depending on the information you set, the UAV will calculate its next actions and decide at its discretion whose lives it is preferable to save in an accident.
In the "full altruism" mode, an autonomous vehicle will put the life of third parties in priority, that is, the outcome of the disaster will not be in favor of the driver. In the "egoist" mode, the car will take all measures to save the life of you and your passengers. In unbiased mode, the car will equally distribute the chances of survival of all participants in the movement.
The creators of the device believe that they have solved the dilemma, since the choice of mode and, accordingly, the prioritization belongs to the person, and not to the machine. Depending on the circumstances (family trip, regular transportation around the city or street racing), the driver, at his discretion, can set the car to one or another mode, guided by common sense and moral standards.