Autonomous Vehicle Ethics Control for Passenger Activity Continuity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in navigating to allow passengers to complete their activities uninterrupted, such as sleeping or watching a movie, while also optimizing route selection based on passenger activities and preferences, and in making ethical decisions during accidents without predefined user preferences.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a processor, memory, ethical investigator, synthesizer, and determinator that monitors passenger activities to adjust driving routes and orientations, and presents ethical questions to determine preferred outcomes in accidents, allowing the vehicle to make decisions based on individual or combined passenger preferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the autonomous vehicle selects the shortest route to destination, then the travel time is reduced, but the passenger's activity (sleeping, watching movie) may be interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting passenger activities in advance and proactively adjusting the route selection before the activity would be interrupted. The navigation system monitors passenger states (sleeping, watching movies) and modifies the shortest route calculation to avoid interruptions, thereby preserving both travel efficiency and activity completion.
2Reliability
If the navigation system adjusts the route to allow passenger activities to complete, then the activity completion is ensured, but the travel time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system dynamically adjusts the route based on real-time passenger activity detection. Instead of using a fixed shortest route, the system continuously monitors passenger states and modifies the navigation path dynamically to either avoid interruptions or minimize their impact, thereby optimizing the balance between travel time and activity completion.
3Speed
If the autonomous vehicle makes ethical decisions without predefined user preferences, then the decision-making speed is improved, but the alignment with user values may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by collecting and storing user ethical preferences in advance through surveys and interactions. This pre-collected data is then used during critical decision-making moments, allowing the vehicle to make ethically-aligned decisions quickly without real-time user input, thus resolving the contradiction between decision speed and value alignment.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the system collects detailed ethical preferences from users, then the alignment with user values is improved, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically collecting, analyzing, and storing user ethical preferences through interactions and surveys without requiring manual configuration. The complexity of preference management is handled autonomously by the system, reducing the burden on users while maintaining high adaptability to individual values.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system and product for implementing user-based ethical decision making in autonomous vehicles. The system includes an ethical investigator that presents an ethical questioner to an entity and collects the entity's responses. An ethical synthesizer synthesizes an ethical preference of the entity based on the collected responses. An ethical determinator selects an action from a plurality of potential actions based on an ethical preference of a controlling entity of a self-driving vehicle at a time the selection is made. The system is configured to cause the self-driving vehicle to perform the action selected by said ethical determinator automatically and without relying on user input.