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Engineering Social Justice into Traffic Control for Self-Driving Vehicles?
Milos N Mladenovic1, Tristram McPherson2
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Aalto University, Rakentajanaukio 4A, 02150, Espoo, Finland. milos.mladenovic@aalto.fi.
Science and Engineering Ethics
|August 2, 2015
Summary
Self-driving vehicles will revolutionize traffic control, necessitating a focus on social justice. This research proposes a framework for equitable traffic systems, prioritizing efficiency and equal access through vehicle self-organization and a novel credit-based priority system.
Area of Science:
- Intelligent Transportation Systems
- Computer Science
- Sociology
Background:
- Advancements in computing, sensing, and communication technologies are enabling the widespread adoption of self-driving vehicles.
- This technological shift necessitates a re-evaluation of traffic control systems to ensure equitable outcomes.
- Existing traffic control methods face limitations in addressing social justice dimensions like efficiency and equal access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the critical importance of social justice considerations in the transformation of traffic control.
- To propose a preliminary framework for integrating social justice principles into next-generation traffic management.
- To focus on efficiency and equal access as key desiderata for future traffic control design.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of social justice implications across safety, sustainability, privacy, efficiency, and equal access.
- Development of a conceptual framework for a socially just traffic control system.
- Outlining components of a next-generation system, including cooperative vehicle self-organization and a user-defined, credit-based priority system.
Main Results:
- New traffic control technologies, driven by autonomous vehicles, have significant social justice implications.
- Conventional traffic control systems are inadequate in meeting demands for efficiency and equal access.
- A preliminary vision for a socially just traffic control system is presented, featuring decentralized vehicle cooperation and a non-monetary credit system for trip prioritization.
Conclusions:
- Addressing social justice is paramount for the successful and equitable deployment of autonomous vehicle technology.
- A cooperative, hierarchically distributed self-organization model for vehicles can enhance traffic efficiency.
- A user-centric priority system based on non-monetary credits offers a novel approach to achieving equal access in future traffic networks.
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