

Should Robot Drivers Kill to Save a Child's Life? - akinginnyc
http://www.livescience.com/47402-should-robot-drivers-kill-to-save-a-childs-life.html

======
colanderman
Why is this child unsupervised in the middle of a dangerous road in the middle
of nowhere?

Call me an asshole but something about Darwinism.

Other fun thoughts:

* What if my child is in the car with me?

* What if I'm pregnant?

* What if I'm a doctor on my way to save the live of a dangerously ill child?

* What if another car comes a minute later, programmed to do the same? Is the child worth two adult lives?

* Would standardization of occupant-killing behavior lead to the weaponization of such highway-children? Would placing children suchly be treated as attempted mass murder?

* Replace the car with a freight train. Why doesn't the conductor detonate an explosive designed to derail the train before it hits the child?

* Why is this occupant-killing car not equipped with an ejection seat?

------
11thEarlOfMar
No question, I would swerve to my death in order to save a child's life. My
robot surrogate should do the same.

~~~
colanderman
I'm curious why you feel you should answer for some parent's negligence with
your life.

------
swalsh
What about the 3rd option? Drive slow on a narrow winding road, and brake when
you see the child.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
This is the fundamental robot-driver issue. If they are any better than human
drivers, its because they have fast reactions and great skill. Traffic density
can be increased, and trip time reduced.

But that leads directly into this issue. What happens when humans are on the
road (children, legacy human drivers)? Does the whole system collapse to a
minimum level to take them into account? Everything slows down; congestion and
slow trips return.

~~~
swalsh
But that's the real game. Instead of programming a computer to prioritize
lives, it makes more sense to program it to find a balance to optimize
reaction times.

On a winding road, where you have little visibility it makes sense to go
slower. On a freeway, you can go faster.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Any time you add humans, you can't go faster. They can change lanes
unpredictably, or hit the brakes for no reason, or fall asleep. You have to go
slowly (for a robot) all the time with people present.

------
afxsgc
It is my car, so it should spare my life. At least, that's how I would program
my own car.

