Safety concerns of self-driving vehicles
At all times when some level of autonomous control is active in a moving motor vehicle, the algorithms behind the autonomous behavior must continuously apply a hierarchical set of requirements to meet the needs of passengers while making every effort to avoid negative outcomes, such as collisions with other objects.
The highest priority encoded in autonomous vehicle algorithms must always be to ensure the safety of the vehicle, its occupants, and others in the vicinity. Consider the alternative: if the vehicle’s highest priority was to get its passengers to the requested destination, the vehicle would interpret this as a license to run through red lights and strike pedestrians if those actions result in the quickest path to the destination.
The vehicle not only needs to predict and manage its path through the numerous obstacles that present themselves; it must also ensure that all of its safety-critical components are operating...
