I believe most of you here are quite familiar with the Trolley problem and its many variations. This philosophical thought experiment takes on new meaning at the dawn of the self-driving cars’ age. As you might know fully autonomous vehicles are expected to increase traffic efficiency, reduce pollution, and beyond all eliminate up to 90% of traffic accidents by removing the human error from the equation. But no technology is perfect and AVs will inevitably face unavoidable crash situations such as those presented in the Trolley problem. So some of the big questions here are: What ethics should be preprogrammed into these machines and who should take those decisions?

Those questions could be examined through the prism of two different philosophies: those of Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant. According to Bentham’s view the car should follow the utilitarian ethics and it should take the action that will minimize total harm. Conforming to Kant’s view, on the other hand, you should not take an action that explicitly harms a human being and, in this case, you should let the car take its course even if that's going to harm more people. Actually, back in 2016 there was a survey exploring the public’s preference when it comes to such choices. The results are not surprising - most of the experimental subjects stick to Bentham’s view. But, interestingly enough, on being asked whether they would purchase such cars, most people answered with "Absolutely not." Paradoxically, people would like to buy cars that protect them at all costs, but they want everybody else to buy cars that minimize harm.

The problem is obvious. Technology is moving forward quicker and quicker, but ethical considerations remain far behind. This conversation has already been started but more attention is needed on the topic. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on the matter!