Ethical Considerations for Vehicle Automation Systems

J. Christian GerdesProfessor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Director, Revs Program at Stanford and Center for Automotive Research at Stanford

What should the car do?

Workshop at Stanford University, June 5 2015

Professor Patrick LinPhilosophyCalifornia Polytechnic University

Ethics is a process, not a module

Are we programming ethical decisions or ethically programming?

Professor Shannon VallorPhilosophySanta Clara University

Professor John SullinsPhilosophySonoma State University

SAFETY

MO

BIL

ITY

LEG

ALITY

6

Break the law?

Wait all day?

7

Obey the speed limit?Even when merging?

1st Person versus 3rd Person Ethics

Professor Debra SatzPhilosophyStanford University

Professor Erin MacDonaldMechanical EngineeringStanford University

9

Traffic is a social dance

Lessons from other disciplines

Professor Mykel KochenderferAeronautics and AstronauticsStanford University

Dr. Noah Goodall Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

Philosophers and Engineers Working Together!

Map philosophical concepts to programming constructs

– Deontological ethics to constraints

– Consequentialism to cost functions

Can balance objectives using a model predictive control framework

– But what weights do we use?

Moral laws modeled analogously to physical laws

– A parallel suggested by Immanuel Kant

Where Can I Find More?

Chapters by conference alumni including:Eva FraedrichThomas Gasser Chris GerdesBarbara LenzPatrick Lin Bryant Walker SmithStephen Wu

Just Search ‘Springer Autonomes Fahren’Free through Open Access!

About 25% in English, full translation coming

13