Topic > Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of self-driving cars

Innovation has always seemed to be the greatest advantage and risk for humanity. With its many benefits, it doesn't seem like people have lived long enough to see the list of repercussions that come with the continuous amount of "advances" and "tweaks" that people have invented. Humanity can however see this highlighted in the automotive industry. Although automobiles were invented in 1885, they did not have the implementation of seat belts as a requirement until 1966, so before that time many car manufacturers took pride in the "mobility" they offered their customers by eliminating seat belts without mentioning, or considering, the risk that came without having it. The newest spectacle to come from the automotive industry is a vehicle that can drive itself, however the public and the industry itself are fully prepared to handle the responsibilities and challenges that come with this new innovation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The immediate premise that comes with a self-driving car is, simply put, ease. The convenience of letting the machine take control while you enjoy the extra time you have to do as you see fit. The immediate mindset is not only idealistic but also full of lack of responsibility. Consider the 2016 fatal car crash that ended the partnership between Mobileye (a company that provides assistance through collision avoidance) and Tesla (an auto manufacturing company that produces electric cars). The accident occurred when the Tesla Model S failed to detect a semi-truck as it crossed the Model S. As technology and telecommunications writer Chris Neiger noted, "Neither company has publicly blamed the other for the accident, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk made comments that were not complimentary to Mobileye after the incident” (Neiger) In situations like this, it is difficult to understand who exactly is to blame, making it even more difficult to fix the problems that tend to occur due to unforeseen circumstances. This lack of responsibility transcends the automotive industry, as can be seen from the fact that some consumers of self-driving cars tend to abuse the automatic driving function. "There have been a number of debates and reports of people in Teslas on the highway, asleep at the wheel, driven on autopilot" (Templenton). If the option for inattention were protected by a believed level of safety that comes from the latest innovations, it would make it more convenient for people to drive recklessly. Another dilemma is much more complicated and much more philosophical, people should simply ask themselves: where does it end? should humans draw the line at moral boundaries with self-driving cars? According to computer scientist and co-author Iyad Rahwan, “People who think about machine ethics make it seem like you can create a perfect set of rules for robots, and what we show here with data is that there are no universal rules,” (Maxmen). Published by Nature Research (a leading international scientific journal), the largest ever ranking survey on the ethics of cars asks over 2.3 million people around the world a very difficult question: what moral code should cars have? self-driving? (Maxmen). He did this by outlining thirteen scenarios in which someone's death was inevitable and people were asked who to spare based on location