Robot laws: Why we need a code of conduct for AI – and fast

THE car's computer saw Elaine Herzberg pushing her bicycle across the highway a full six seconds before it struck her. Travelling at just under 70 kilometres per hour, it had more than enough time to stop or swerve. But it did neither, hitting her head on. Herzberg died in hospital, the first pedestrian to be killed by an autonomous vehicle. A preliminary investigation by the US National Transport Safety Board into the collision, which happened in Tempe, Arizona, in March, found that the emergency braking procedure of the Uber-operated car was designed to be disabled when driving autonomously to ensure a smoother ride.