As we move closer and closer to autonomous cars, here's a dilemma - and it's something we're going to have to deal with sooner than you think. Discuss.
http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/zero ... o-save-two
The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
Can we teach ethics to robots? That's tough.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoAD3kUmN9s[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoAD3kUmN9s[/youtube]
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
This is what I've been saying for years. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out, though apparently it takes a genius to get normal people thinking about it.
Autonomous cars on the same roads as human-driven cars is a recipe for infinite bad things. It can't be permitted.
As for the whole "ethics to robots" thing (which I know was rhetorical):
I think the real problem is your average person not realizing the TREMENDOUS gap between "processing" and "thinking." Computers process. Sentient beings think. They are not comparable beyond both being data-utilization methods. Until we've got cars operated by actual, sentient, thinking artificial intelligence, we can't allow them to make our decisions for us. And if we really reached that point, there'd be whole new ethical issues making crash reaction scenarios a moot point.
Everyone talks about computer reaction times and processing times. That's all ENTIRELY beside the point. Being quick at something simple is not superior to being effective at something complex. Computers might be able to react quickly to data, but we as humans are far better at making INTELLIGENT use of large amounts of seemingly unrelated information. We can ANTICIPATE accidents. Computers can only react to them after they've begun.
Intelligence =/= FLOPS
Autonomous cars on the same roads as human-driven cars is a recipe for infinite bad things. It can't be permitted.
As for the whole "ethics to robots" thing (which I know was rhetorical):
I think the real problem is your average person not realizing the TREMENDOUS gap between "processing" and "thinking." Computers process. Sentient beings think. They are not comparable beyond both being data-utilization methods. Until we've got cars operated by actual, sentient, thinking artificial intelligence, we can't allow them to make our decisions for us. And if we really reached that point, there'd be whole new ethical issues making crash reaction scenarios a moot point.
Everyone talks about computer reaction times and processing times. That's all ENTIRELY beside the point. Being quick at something simple is not superior to being effective at something complex. Computers might be able to react quickly to data, but we as humans are far better at making INTELLIGENT use of large amounts of seemingly unrelated information. We can ANTICIPATE accidents. Computers can only react to them after they've begun.
Intelligence =/= FLOPS
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themadscientist
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Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
Hahaha. I can't wait for this to come around. The lemmings will line up to buy them and deserve what they get. I will continue to be a "variable" in the equasion.
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
I'd rather not be ANY part of the equation.
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AZhitman
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Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
That's the scary part.
I suspect we'll see some militia-type behavior, wherein folks not unlike me purchase a '77 Suburban, weld up an exo-cage, and start bouncing these things off the road like a horizontal version of Whack-a-Mole.
I suspect we'll see some militia-type behavior, wherein folks not unlike me purchase a '77 Suburban, weld up an exo-cage, and start bouncing these things off the road like a horizontal version of Whack-a-Mole.
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themadscientist
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Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
Glad I'm not the only one.
My GTR will be broadcasting a spoofed IP and parking viruses. Deathrace style bishes!
My GTR will be broadcasting a spoofed IP and parking viruses. Deathrace style bishes!
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elwesso
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Re: The Ethical Dilemma of Autonomous Cars
It's an interesting debate... I wonder how many parking-related accidents that lexus and other manufacturers got into due to the auto-park feature hitting another car, or hitting an un-detected object causing damage to a vehicle... Technically, it's not the driver's fault because the car was in control, so when it comes to insurance, whose fault would it be? I wouldn't want to be at-fault because my car ran itself into something, which would cost me more in insurance premiums...
In our attempt to automate things, the human becomes less and less necessary. I understand automation for menial or dangerous tasks, but there's a lot of areas that are cause for concern, even beyond transportation.
At the end of the day though, it still is a human issue because someone has to program these devices to make these "decisions". It's not really the robot's "decision".
In our attempt to automate things, the human becomes less and less necessary. I understand automation for menial or dangerous tasks, but there's a lot of areas that are cause for concern, even beyond transportation.
At the end of the day though, it still is a human issue because someone has to program these devices to make these "decisions". It's not really the robot's "decision".