The self-driving car conundrum

Irwin

Irwin

Well-known Member
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
If you were responsible for programming the logic into self driving cars, how would you program them in the following scenario:

You're riding down the highway in your self-driving car, going 75 miles an hour. Traffic is fairly heavy. There's a truck in front of you pulling a trailer carrying a tractor. On your left is a minivan full of young children. On your right is a motorcycle. All of a sudden, the chain securing the tractor snaps and it rolls off the back of the trailer, right into your path.

How should your self-driving car react? Should it...
  • swerve to the left and possibly kill the children in the minivan?
  • swerve to the right and possibly kill the motorcyclist?
  • keep going straight and possibly kill you?
Explain your answer.
 

My answer is this. Since the traffic is very heavy no one should be going 75 mph. I would definitely exit ASAP. But to choose one of the three the I would maintain my path behind the loose chain with brakes applied. Risking the children is out of the question. Then the cyclist stands a much greater chance of dying than I do in my self driving vehicle.
 
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My self-driving car would immediately fire a laser beam to weld the chain, then two wheels chocs would follow to temporarily hold the tractor and finally it would attach a secure line to the transporting vehicle to bring it to a safe stop. My self driving car can do all that and more besides:
 

I would do what Superman did when his girlfriend Lois was killed in that earthquake; make the earth turn in the opposite direction until the earthquake didn't happen so she was alive again.
 
Irwin said:
If you were responsible for programming the logic into self driving cars, how would you program them in the following scenario:

You're riding down the highway in your self-driving car, going 75 miles an hour. Traffic is fairly heavy. There's a truck in front of you pulling a trailer carrying a tractor. On your left is a minivan full of young children. On your right is a motorcycle. All of a sudden, the chain securing the tractor snaps and it rolls off the back of the trailer, right into your path.

How should your self-driving car react? Should it...
  • swerve to the left and possibly kill the children in the minivan?
  • swerve to the right and possibly kill the motorcyclist?
  • keep going straight and possibly kill you?
Explain your answer.
Click to expand...
None of the above. I would program it to avoid these situations.
 
I never have understood the need for self-driving cars!

They are fine in an enclosed area like a warehouse as a forklift, or
as transport for hot or heavy goods, again in a restricted area, if
they are allowed on to the roads and the general public is allowed
to own one, they will fade away as every time somebody dies the
manufacturer will get sued for selling a faulty machine, I think.

There were two men killed not so long ago in one, somewhere in
America, I believe.

Europeans are playing around with large trucks, fully laden and
travelling at the posted speed limit, they are still in controlled
areas thank goodness, but the day will come when somebody
wants to try it for real, as they are doing with cars.

I have cruise control in my car and on a long journey, I only have
to be alert and steer, if I touch the brake or the clutch, it switches
off and all is back in my control.

Leave them to the scientists to play with, till they come up with a
better idea.

Mike.
 
Well, Irwin, self driving cars would not get into that situation. The car is programmed to avoid accidents. At 75/mph, it would have been far enough behind truck with the chain to stop in time to avoid the tract
But for your question-my best guess would be to apply the brakes and continue strait. Swerving would only throw the car out of control. By applying the brakes, maybe the car's impact with the chain would be in the range where the airbags could prevent real harm.
 
It's pretty obvious that there are no good answers to this. I suspect that the logic would be to just slam on the brakes.
 

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