"All things equal": Ethical Principles as to Why Autonomous Vehicle Experts Change or Retain Their Opinions in Trolley Problems, A Qualitative Study

Stephen R. Milford ^* Besran Zara Malgir Bernice S. Elger David M. Shaw

• University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are already features on some public roads. Yet there is evidence to suggest that the public remains sceptical with the ethics of collisions scenarios a particular concern. Much research has been conducted on public opinion, but no research has been conducted on the ethical opinions of AV experts. This paper presents findings of the first qualitative research into the ethical opinions of experts responsible for how AVs are designed, deployed, and regulated. 46 experts were interviewed and presented with two trolley problem-like vignettes. Experts were asked for an initial opinion upon which the parameters of the vignettes were changed to gauge which principles would result in either changing or retaining an ethical opinion. Following reflective thematic analysis, four important findings can be deduced: 1) While experts are broadly utilitarian, this is nuanced in significant ways to focus on the impact of collision scenarios on the community as a whole. 2) Obeying the rules of the road remains a significantly strong ethical opinion. 3) Responsibility and risk play important roles in how AVs should handle collision situations. 4) Egoistic opinions were present to a limited extent. The article concludes that the ethics of AVs are still a serious challenge and that while utilitarianism appears to be a driving ethical principle on the surface, along with the need for Avs and Vulnerable road users to obey the rules, questions of community impact and risk vs responsibility remain strong influences among AV experts.