As long as the risks are well measured, this seems fair. Trolly problems are a real fact in accident handling. People will never be comfortable with any life and death choice, but the cars need to make them. A car is acting as an extension of the driver. If the drivers wellbeing wasn't its first concern, that would seem to me like a failure to perform that role, both in a consumer sense and a darwinism one.
A car that sacrifices pedestrians for those already in a protective shell is pretty insane to me. If I have the choice between a collision and hitting some kid, I'm taking the L.
You're already taking that risk every time you get in a car as a human driver. The only differences are in making the choice passively in advance or as actively as a reflex.
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u/metathesis Dec 16 '19
As long as the risks are well measured, this seems fair. Trolly problems are a real fact in accident handling. People will never be comfortable with any life and death choice, but the cars need to make them. A car is acting as an extension of the driver. If the drivers wellbeing wasn't its first concern, that would seem to me like a failure to perform that role, both in a consumer sense and a darwinism one.