Programming Self-Driving Cars Makes People Less Selfish

Self-driving cars are just around the corner, but working out the rules that should govern them is proving tricky. Should they mimic often self-interested human decision making, or be programmed to consider the greater good? It turns out that when you let people program autonomous vehicles themselves, the gap between self-interest and the greater good shrinks. Much of the focus in this area has been on the most pressing moral dilemmas--how should autonomous vehicles behave in cases of life or death? A 2016 study found that people broadly supported utilitarian programming models that save the lives of the most people even if it puts the occupants at risk.