Driving the self-driving vehicle: Expanding the technological design horizon

Abstract

Drawing perspectives from science and technology studies, philosophy of science, and literature from ethics and social justice, this paper examines the promises and challenges in the development of self-driving vehicle (SDV) technology. We start with the premise that the combination of different computing technologies embedded in SDVs is a powerful tool for efficiency in communications, information gathering, processing, and storage. However, by focusing on efficiency, SDVs provide a new mode of industrialized transportation whose users can only choose between transportation services, but have little or no say about the broader social implications of the technology. We argue that perspectives from social justice and ethics show that SDVs have implications beyond transportation, with profound consequences for users and societies. In particular, values such as privacy, security, and responsibility may be changed for good or bad, in both the short and long-term. The examination of these changes, while the technology is still under foundational development, is as urgent as it is needed.