Abstract

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are designed to operate without human intervention. Pre-programmed codes and learning algorithms alone are responsible for the vehicles’ actions in all situations ranging from daily routines to rare incidents that can include fatalities. Raising AVs to make moral decisions in the latter situations imposes a moral and social challenge. This paper, in seven studies and a single-paper meta-analysis, demonstrates how people’s personal perspectives and decision-making modes affect their moral decisions for a number of AV dilemmas varying on situational factors. We conclude that perspectives and decision-making modes need to be taken into consideration for future research on the moral decisions in the use of AVs.

About the speaker:

Darius-Aurel Frank, PhD Fellow, Dept. of Management, AU