The self-driving car is one of the ways that science fiction is reaching the point of being a reality for people. Its increasing prevalence in the world mirrors the fate of many other revolutionary pieces of technology: how freely should these machines be made available to the public and how will society adjust to the freedom of an AI chauffeur?
This article highlights several major factors that affect both the public and private sectors of the automotive industry. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of automated vehicles.
How Do Normal Car Accidents Happen?
While there is always the chance of a natural disaster or a freak encounter with an animal, negligence is the leading cause of car accidents. People can lose focus of the road, get distracted by bickering passengers, or may be attempting to text while driving. People can also cause an accident when they let their emotions get the better of their logic, doing regretful things in the process that can lead to serious injury or death.
Who Would Be at Fault in a Self-Driving Accident?
While self-driving cars take out the variable of human error, the answer to this question is rather sticky. Should the AI’s programmer be at fault? What if both cars are the same brand of self-driving vehicle? In the event of a crash between a normal car and a self-driving car, should the normal car driver be at fault by default?
The truth of the matter is that the law has not really caught up with this level of sophisticated technology. At least one fatal accident case, involving a self-driving car, ruled that the individual using his car’s AI to control his vehicle was declared at fault for ceding control of his vehicle.
How Much Does Human Error Factor into Decision-Making on the Road?
Currently, most laws regarding car accidents and insurance coverage err on the side of humanity. The human mind is considered the final arbiter of any decision made on the road—making self-driving cars blatantly illegal unless those vehicles have a mechanism to allow a human to take over the controls.
What are the Legal Ramifications for Accidents?
As most laws are currently written, humans cannot abandon control of their vehicle without being held responsible for the consequences. However, the matter of self-driving cars is a slightly different can of worms than a person who gets into the driver’s seat while under the influence or acts in a way that would count as negligence.
The state of self-driving cars and their owners make it confusing if death would be manslaughter, or if it’s wrongful death. Because they are being controlled by a highly-advanced artificial intelligence rather than an impaired or negligent human mind, self-driving cars may very well lead to a distinct, separate list of stipulations and bylaws to cover issues like who the at-fault party is in an accident. For example, it would be completely pointless to sue a human in criminal court for an accident involving her completely autonomous vehicle; there would be literally nothing that the person could do to influence the outcome of the incident.
What Sort of World Would We Have If This Technology Became Foolproof?
In a world with perfectly handled AI-driven cars, many things could happen:
- The work sector might infringe on more of people’s time. If employees do not need to think about their driving, that is more time for them to work for the company.
- The elderly would be able to show more initiative in meeting up with their friends and family.
- The automotive insurance industry would be completely reworked. The rare manually-driven car might incur more of a premium because of a perceived increase to risk attraction.
While there is much that we don’t know about how automated vehicles will affect society at large, we do know that self-driving cars will bring major changes. With technology quickly advancing in the automotive industry, legislation will also need to advance to meet it.
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