Self-Driving Cars and the Value of Human Life

There are several different normative ethical frameworks one can use for determining or
measuring the value of a human life, including deontological and utilitarian theories on
how we ought to make decisions regarding which lives have more value. I intend to evaluate
these frameworks and apply them to the problem of self driving cars, which pose
both ethical and legal issues. These cars will have to be programmed to make decisions in
the case of emergency situations, and the question of who and how we should be programming
these vehicles to best promote the common good is a difficult one. I will argue
that utilitarianism is the best way to make decisions in the case of choosing between 2
lives, and that self-driving cars should be programmed to do the least damage possible,
even if that means sacrificing the life of the passenger. In addition, I will argue for the
programming of self-driving cars to be uniform across manufacturers, with liability generally
falling on the manufacturer in cases of injury or malfunction.