Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
Driverless vehicles will need to be programmed with a clear and agreed set of rules for decision-making, according to research from UK Autodrive.
The report ‘The Moral Algorithm’ highlights concerns over the so-called “trolley problem” – where a vehicle must choose between hitting defined individuals – may have been exaggerated as autonomous vehicles (AVs) will never be programmed to make such distinctions.
The report recommends that harmonised regulations will be needed for other decisions, such as when it is permissible for a car to break the rules of the road, or determining the level of assertiveness required when a vehicle interacts with other road-users.
Produced by UK Autodrive’s legal partner Gowling WLG, the research provides eight recommendations including; the development of a policy regarding how the moral algorithm will operate in terms of major safety situations, a programme of public education and consultation, and creating an independent regulator to balance the legality, safety and commerciality issues surrounding autonomous vehicles.
“As with any complex new technology, AVs cannot be specifically programmed to respond to every possible scenario. This simply isn’t practical when a machine is expected to interact with humans, in a complex environment, on a day-to-day basis. AVs will drive to the speed limits and will not be distracted from the task of safe driving; they will make practical decisions based on their programming, but they cannot be expected to make moral decisions around which society provides no agreed guidance. To allow AVs to demonstrate their capacity for practical decision-making in complex environments, and to begin to establish public trust through contact, the first step is allowing testing in relatively simple and well-defined environments.
- Tim Armitage, UK Autodrive Project Director, Arup
The Arup-led consortium, UK Autodrive is the largest of three consortia currently trialling automated vehicle technology to support the introduction of self-driving vehicles into the UK. 'The Moral Algorithm' report follows 'Are you data driven?' published earlier in the year.