Cars Programmed to Kill

Once self-driving cars move from research project into the mainstream, they will have to move from sunny tech utopian dreams into the murkier realities of the most dangerous aspect of modern life. Why Self-Driving Cars Must Be Programmed to Kill
examines our dystopian-sounding future:

How should the car be programmed to act in the event of an unavoidable accident? Should it minimize the loss of life, even if it means sacrificing the occupants, or should it protect the occupants at all costs? Should it choose between these extremes at random?

The answers to these ethical questions are important because they could have a big impact on the way self-driving cars are accepted in society. Who would buy a car programmed to sacrifice the owner?

It would be pretty unnerving to know that your car might decide to off you for the greater good, even if it’s the right call. This is a whole other ethical dilemma apart from the question of whether we should be wasting time on self-driving cars in the first place.

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