Self-driving cars will be technologically feasible in the foreseeable future but a huge array of issues must be resolved first, including ethical questions such as the need to protect the data and privacy of people who use the technology, experts advising the government said in a report due to be released on Tuesday. An independent commission led by Udo di Fabio, a former judge at Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, will present a set of 20 proposed rules that Handelsblatt has obtained exclusively. The 14 experts - including philosophers, IT specialists, a cleric, consumer rights advocates and representatives of the auto industry - discussed the ethical, technical, legal and privacy issues surrounding autonomous driving. They had only a few months for their discussions but they were able to agree on principles. “Allowing automated systems is only justifiable if it promises a reduction in damages in comparison with human driving performance,” the report said. “The protection of humans has priority over all other usefulness being considered.” The commission also agreed that the system must not be programmed to save the lives of occupants in all cases if that means endangering the lives of others. There’s no question that human safety must always override the safety of animals or the risk of damaging property, it said, adding that the system must never be allowed to favor one type of human being over another in risk situations. The technology must be designed in a way “that critical situations don’t arise,” it said. Any such risk programming must be confined to reducing injury to humans. The experts also made clear that humans aren’t handing over responsibility to machines, but to the people who built the technology. That means the manufacturers must be liable. The report demanded that liability for damage through activated automatic driving systems should be subject to the same laws as general product liability. Regarding privacy, the commission agreed that the occupant of the car must retain possession over their data and that they must not be degraded into a “mere network element.” The system must not be allowed to subject users to “total surveillance,” it added. The researchers said autonomous driving is about more than transport. It’s about the relationship between man and machine. “Technology is putting the axe to the roots of humanity,” said computer specialist Manfred Broy, head of a research body sponsored by the Bavarian government. Commission member Anton Losinger, the bishop of Augsburg, said there was no such thing as infallible technology, just as there was no human free of sin. Ethical boundaries were essential, he said. Separately, Handelsblatt has obtained a 40-page report on autonomous driving compiled by scientists for the transport ministry. The scientists conducted a thorough examination of what it means to let the driver cede control over his vehicle temporarily or permanently, and they concluded that scores of issues need to be addressed including social acceptance, legal questions and of course safety. On the plus side, there are high potential advantages, they wrote. Taxi and public transport companies will be able to do without drivers and offer low-cost and profitable services. Road capacity is likely to increase by up to 40 percent but traffic volumes could also grow due to vehicles driving deliberately slowly because they’re carrying advertising or are programmed to save parking fees. City planning will change radically because fewer parking spaces will be needed and new speed restrictions are likely to be introduced. Motorways will see convoys of driverless trucks. Accident liability will shift from drivers to manufacturers, even for driver assistance systems of the sort that are already available that take control in specific circumstances such as in traffic jams or parking, the report said. “This constellation of liability will presumably lead to manufacturers and operators urging vehicle occupants to withdraw from driving the vehicles as soon as this becomes technically possible,” it said, adding that a whole new “architecture of regulation” will be required. The scientists said autonomous cars can improve road safety, the key argument proffered by supporters of the new technology. But they added: “The technology isn’t necessary for that.” Daniel Delhaes reports on politics, transport and airlines from Handelsblatt's Berlin office. To contact the author: [email protected]
An independent commission has warned the German government that self - driving car technology will need to be regulated to ensure that data and privacy are protected . The commission , headed by a former judge from the Federal Constitutional Court , Udo di Fabio , has said that there are ethical issues that must be resolved before the technology is rolled out in future . The commission will present 20 new rules for the government to follow that cover the ethical , legal , technical and privacy issues thrown up by the technology .