Autonomous Driving Ethics: Self-driving Cars Facing Trolley Problems

Abstract

The trolley problem has always been one of the most famous ethical dilemmas in human history, arousing millions of arguments and discussions. When self-driving cars, as products of our new age, encounter the trolley problem, the decisions made will be different from those of human beings due to the particularity of the cars and the autopilot algorithm. This paper will first determine the definition and scope of the trolley problem, and then compare the difference between autonomous cars and traditional ones. It then proposes possible guidance for the autopilot algorithms from legal and ethical perspectives. Despite a long history, ethical methods for autonomous cars are still uncertain and hard to be accepted by everyone. Perhaps the combination of different ethical approaches could greatly ameliorate this problem. The feature of hysteresis of law makes it impossible to provide guidance for autonomous cars in time, but laws can help build abstract principles for autopilot algorithms from the perspective of reducing legal liability.