The everyday ethical challenges of self-driving cars

The everyday ethical challenges of self-driving cars [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 27 March 2018 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note A self-driving car fatally crashed into a pedestrian last week as she crossed a badly lit street. Since then concerns have emerged over flaws in the vehicle’s technology. Philosopher Johannes Himmelreich, who works with Stanford’s Center for Automotive Research, argues that it’s time to take a few steps back and accept that it is the mundane, everyday situations – such as how a vehicle should approach a crosswalk – that present [the hard ethical quandaries for the engineers designing self-driving cars.]( Who trusts Facebook? It depends a lot on where you live, writes Bhaskar Chakravorti of Tufts University. His research shows that user trust is highest in less technologically evolved but rapidly developing countries, like China, India, Malaysia and Chile. Unfortunately, people in those nations are also [the most vulnerable to shady business practices.]( When it comes to school safety, there’s no shortage of individuals who believe in tightening security. But when UC Berkeley’s Calvin Morrill and the University of Oregon’s Michael Musheno spent 16 years at a school that imposed strict security measures, they found that doing so not only made things worse, but also [“eroded the ethos of trust that facilitated peace among students.”]( Kalpana Jain Senior Religion + Ethics Editor Top Stories Decisions made by engineers today will determine how all cars drive. Grendelkhan [The everyday ethical challenges of self-driving cars]( Johannes Himmelreich, Stanford University McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society The biggest ethical challenges for self-driving cars arise in mundane situations, not when crashes are unavoidable. Every month, over two billion people worldwide log into Facebook. hxdbzxy/shutterstock.com [The countries that trust Facebook the most are also the most vulnerable to its mistakes]( Bhaskar Chakravorti, Tufts University Facebook's users have wildly different expectations about privacy and security. What may look like inadequate oversight in some places may be considered an overreach in others. Tight security measures in schools erode cultures of trust, researchers contend. Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock [Culture of trust is key for school safety]( Calvin Morrill, University of California, Berkeley; Michael Musheno, University of Oregon Researchers spent 16 years at a high school and observed security tighten and then loosen up again. What they found is that tighter security had the opposite of the intended effect. Science + Technology - [Self-driving cars can't be perfectly safe – what's good enough? 3 questions answered]( Nicholas G. 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Instead, my research suggests, it creates the spillover effect of criminalizing everyone associated with drugs.]( [Trump plan to execute 'big drug pushers' will do nothing to stop opioid overdoses]( Angélica Durán-Martínez University of Massachusetts Lowell [Angélica Durán-Martínez] [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111