For ages now, people have been going on and on about self-driving cars. While we haven't gotten hover boards, jet packs, or personal robots, it does seem like technology is right on the cusp of perfecting the self-driving automobile. There's only one little problem, though: it might kill you.
As scientist program the amazing self-driving computer systems of these future cars, someone brought up the question of morality behind the wheel. Hypothetically speaking: if your car is driving down the road and there are large walls on either side, but then someone suddenly jumps in the middle of the road, what should your car do?
According to iflscience, scientists are struggling with this interesting question: "Some accidents like this are inevitable with the rise in self-driving cars – and what the cars are programmed to do in these situations could play a huge role in public adoption of the technology."
What if you're alone in the car and a group of 10 children suddenly show up in the middle of the road, but the only way the car can save the children is by wrecking into the wall, which would kill you? Should the car do that?
What if you're driving your whole family in the car and a group of 10 escaped criminals jumps out in the middle of the road? Should the car automatically wreck into the wall to save the 10 people there in the road?
With new technology, a lot of intriguing moral questions always comes up; we would love to hear your opinion in the comments below! Is this something we should even be playing with at all to begin with?
And please SHARE this interesting video of a self-driving car along with your thoughts on this future technology!
What do you think the car should do? Let us know!
