“Let The Driver Off The Hook?” Moral Decisions Of Autonomous Cars And Their Impact On Consumers Well-Being
(A2023-114414)

AUTHORS

Marc Kuhn, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart; Maximilian Schwing, TSM Research-UMR 5303 CNRS, University of Toulouse 1 Capitole; Vanessa Reit, Cooperative State University Baden-Württemberg (DHBW Stuttgart); Sarah Selinka, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart; Yuliia Pashchenko, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart

ABSTRACT

Equipped with AI-based driver assistant systems, cars are becoming increasingly smart. It seems to be a matter of a few years until fully autonomous vehicles will operate without any driver intervention. In this regard, researchers are addressing the question of how fully automated vehicles should make decisions in critical situations. Projects like MIT´s “moral machine” are investigating the preferences for ethical decision algorithms in different nations and cultures. The evaluation of these decisions impacting on consumer perception is still scarce. In our experimental study, participants are experiencing a simulator-based driving situation followed by confrontation with different automated action scenarios of the car in a critical situation. We measure emotional status and well-being of our test-persons in those critical situations, using facial-recognition technology, EEG and standardized questions. Results show detectable differences between the scenarios for 3 of the 7 emotions.