A precautionary approach to autonomous vehicles

In this article, we defend an approach to autonomous vehicle ethics and policy based on the precautionary principle. We argue that a precautionary approach is warranted, given the significant scientific and moral uncertainties related to autonomous vehicles, especially higher-level ones. While higher-level autonomous vehicles may offer many important benefits to society, they also pose significant risks, which are not fully understood at this juncture. Risk management strategies traditionally used by government officials to make decisions about new technologies cannot be applied to higher-level autonomous vehicles because these strategies require accurate and reliable probability estimates concerning the outcomes of different policy options and extensive agreement about values, which are not currently available for autonomous vehicles. Although we describe our approach as precautionary, that does not mean that we are opposed to autonomous vehicle development and deployment, because autonomous vehicles offer benefits that should be pursued. The optimal approach to managing the risks of autonomous vehicles is to take reasonable precautions; that is, to adopt policies that attempt to deal with serious risks in a responsible way without depriving society of important benefits.