Tesla’s Self-Driving Cars & The Trolley Problem: An Ethical Dilemma in AI Design

‍As a society, we are on the brink of a technological revolution that could redefine the way we interact with the world. At the forefront of this revolution is the development of autonomous vehicles, which are expected to change the landscape of transportation. However, the introduction of these self-driving cars raises complex ethical and philosophical questions, particularly when it comes to decision-making in critical situations.

The Trolley Problem Reimagined

The Trolley Problem, a thought experiment in ethics, has found new relevance in the age of autonomous vehicles. The problem presents a moral dilemma: a runaway trolley is heading towards five people tied on the tracks, and you, the observer, can pull a lever to switch the tracks, saving five lives but killing one person on the other track.

Applying this scenario to self-driving cars, imagine an autonomous vehicle faced with an impending collision. The vehicle must decide between two undesirable outcomes — to continue on its path, potentially harming multiple pedestrians, or swerve, inevitably harming a single pedestrian or the vehicle’s passengers. This conundrum has sparked intense debates among ethicists, AI developers, and the public about the intrinsic philosophy that should…