With Driverless Cars, a Safety Dilemma Arises

Would you buy a car that might risk hurting you to protect a pedestrian? It is a question social-science researchers are exploring amid the development of driverless cars. While commercial applications may be years away, any fully autonomous vehicle that eventually takes to the road will need to make decisions--like whether to swerve to miss one pedestrian at the risk of hitting another. Many ethicists argue that a public conversation should be part of the development process. In a study published in Science, researchers found people want the cars to be programmed to minimize casualties while on the road.