Graduation Year

2016

Date of Submission

12-2016

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Philosophy

Reader 1

Adrienne Martin

Reader 2

Jefferson Huang

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2016 Richard J Mancuso

Abstract

Self-driving cars are here. Once an advanced technology that seemed futuristic, they are now closer than most believe. Many of the largest automobile manufacturers are working on autonomous vehicle technology of their own. Perhaps most well-known, though, are the cars being developed by Tesla and Google. Both companies have well-developed prototypes of fully autonomous vehicles, meaning they require no human input or supervision, and Tesla has promised widespread, consumer availability of this technology in the next one to two years.

Along with the availability of this technology to the public and transportation companies like Uber and Lyft, comes a need to establish a regulatory environment. Regulators need to contemplate a new, yet complex, technology with far-reaching implications and determine how best to regulate necessary components. In this paper, I plan to explicate and analyze the ethical impact of the proliferation of self-driving cars that regulators should consider when determining how they ought to regulate.

I will do this by first clarifying any technical terms one might need to be familiar with as well as discussing some of the requisite considerations. Then, I plan to explore a some of the pitfalls regulators might be subject to as they navigate the associated complex issues. Finally, I will explain and analyze the likely benefits and potential risks resulting from roadways filled with autonomous vehicles.

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