4 ms·

I agree, not because of technical issues but because we will never be able to get past the 'Trolley Problem'.

nradov 7y ago
I don't expect level 4+ autonomous vehicles any time soon, but the "trolley problem" is an irrelevant distraction. It's not something that comes up in real world collisions. There's never an even choice between hitting one of two targets. Other factors are always present and dictate the safest course of action.
- todaysAI 7y ago
  I don't agree. The problem of least 'harm' will come up continually. Moralistic decisions must be made by the car. And even if those incidents do not occur, the software will have to be programmed for these types of decisions.
claudiawerner 7y ago
Moral and ethical dilemmas, unfortunately (in my view as someone very sympathetic to philosophical investigation) seem only rarely to deter the inventors of technology and even more rarely deter the companies who employ these inventors and engineers.
mac01021 7y ago
The trolley problem is not relevant because an autonomous vehicle should never put itself in a position where it might drive into anything.
- todaysAI 7y ago
  Tires burst, kids run out in traffic, human drivers make mistakes, bad weather happens...
  - mac01021 7y ago
    And an autonomous vehicle should drive so that, whichever of those things happens, it will not drive into anything. This may mean that the car drives rather slowly when the treeline is close to the road, or extremely slowly when the road is slick or foggy. But it can be done.
adrianmonk 7y ago
We already have the trolley problem with human drivers, yet humans are allowed to drive cars.
kwhitefoot 7y ago
The Trolley Problem is only a problem in theory. In real life no one but the victim of a psychopath who has carefully stage managed the problem ever has to confront it. When one in real life has such a problem one doesn't have time for reflection, adrenalin and social conditioning take over. People jump in front of trains to rescue other people careless of the harm that might be done to their families and friend should they die in the attempt.

I don't expect level 4+ autonomous vehicles any time soon, but the "trolley problem" is an irrelevant distraction. It's not something that comes up in real world collisions. There's never an even choice between hitting one of two targets. Other factors are always present and dictate the safest course of action.

todaysAI 7y ago
I don't agree. The problem of least 'harm' will come up continually. Moralistic decisions must be made by the car. And even if those incidents do not occur, the software will have to be programmed for these types of decisions.

claudiawerner 7y ago

Moral and ethical dilemmas, unfortunately (in my view as someone very sympathetic to philosophical investigation) seem only rarely to deter the inventors of technology and even more rarely deter the companies who employ these inventors and engineers.

mac01021 7y ago

The trolley problem is not relevant because an autonomous vehicle should never put itself in a position where it might drive into anything.

todaysAI 7y ago
Tires burst, kids run out in traffic, human drivers make mistakes, bad weather happens...
- mac01021 7y ago
  And an autonomous vehicle should drive so that, whichever of those things happens, it will not drive into anything. This may mean that the car drives rather slowly when the treeline is close to the road, or extremely slowly when the road is slick or foggy. But it can be done.

adrianmonk 7y ago

We already have the trolley problem with human drivers, yet humans are allowed to drive cars.

kwhitefoot 7y ago

The Trolley Problem is only a problem in theory. In real life no one but the victim of a psychopath who has carefully stage managed the problem ever has to confront it. When one in real life has such a problem one doesn't have time for reflection, adrenalin and social conditioning take over. People jump in front of trains to rescue other people careless of the harm that might be done to their families and friend should they die in the attempt.