This chapter explores the underlying arguments for and against designing ethics settings into autonomous vehicles. I begin by offering a definition of “ethics setting” and by discussing how designers and engineers embed ethics settings in technology. I then provide an overview of some of the ethics settings that are currently embedded in vehicles and some that are proposed or foreseeable in emerging autonomous vehicle technology. I also discuss the various ethical considerations that have been raised in response to each kind of ethics setting. After describing the landscape of ethics settings and related ethical issues that accompany them, I raise three questions that must be answered by those designing ethics settings into autonomous vehicles. I conclude by providing some considerations that can help engineers, designers, and policymakers answer them in practice.
A Safety-Case Approach to Ethical Considerations for Autonomous Vehicles