[Year 12 IT Apps] Moral dilemmas and future technology

[Savage, John L]

If the car self-destructs then we still need to deal with the Conservation of Momentum which will probably result in one or more deaths!

Laurie Savage
http://accelerus.pvgc.vic.edu.au

From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Roland Gesthuizen
Sent: Wednesday, 3 September 2014 10:50 PM
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] Moral dilemmas and future technology

The legislators have a saying "travelling too fast to strop". If Issac Asimov had it his way, the car would probably just self destruct, rather than allow a human to come to any harm. Laws of Robotics anybody?

The good thing is that up to now, these systems have an onroad performance record that is nearly impeccable. I hate to say it but I can only see it getting better with time and experience. We all like to think that we are better than average, but that may not be the case for around half of us. Do we trust a cheap fire alarm or should we trust just our noses?

If a driver turns off a vehicle safety system, crashes a car then it was shown that the system could have prevented the crash, is the driver culpable or the manufacturer for allowing it to be turned off? We are already facing this when we consider the actions of an autopilot used by aircraft and the decisions made by modern pilots who already hand control and trust over to an external body. The future is now.

-
Roland GESTHUIZEN
http://about.me/rgesthuizen

On 3 Sep 2014, at 12:00 pm, Mark <mark at vceit.com<mailto:mark at vceit.com>> wrote:


It won't be long before cars start having ethical dilemmas...

"Let's consider a thought experiment similar to the one Lin examined, called the Tunnel Problem: You are travelling along a single-lane mountain road in an autonomous car that is fast approaching a narrow tunnel. Just before entering the tunnel a child errantly runs into the road and trips in the centre of the lane, effectively blocking the entrance to the tunnel. The car is unable to brake in time to avoid a crash. It has but two options: hit and kill the child, or swerve into the wall on either side of the tunnel, thus killing you.

Now ask yourself, Who should decide whether the car goes straight or swerves? Manufacturers? Users? Legislators?"


http://www.wired.com/2014/09/set-the-ethics-robot-car/


--

Mark Kelly
mark AT vceit DOT com
http://vceit.com<http://vceit.com/>

"Due to recent advances in DNA analysis, I will no longer be spitting in your coffee."  Anon


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