AV Ethics - Part 1 - The Molly Problem

Recently, our friends at AI4AD have started to discuss “The Molly Problem”: when self driving cars cause serious harm and collisions with child pedestrians in the face of no eyewitnesses. According to their article, 1.3 million people die on our roads each year. These traffic injuries are also the leading cause of death for children and young adults between 5-29 years.

The Molly Problem is a serious debate that tackles key decisions surrounding safe and ethical deployment of autonomous vehicles. Lessons learned in deciding how to create these safe vehicles can also apply to wide ranges of society; these conversations are necessary. 

We think discussions like these are important within our company, as well. At Retrospect, we are focused on how to best equip autonomous vehicles to recognize potentially unsafe internal faults, but also find the balance between capturing safety while not being overly sensitive. Our company provides clients with safety standards that meet rapidly evolving changes in the industry in order to protect against issues like The Molly Problem.

So, if you see a collision between a child pedestrian and a self driving car with no eyewitnesses, what do you do? Please take AI4AD’s survey here. https://aiforgood.itu.int/events/ai-safety-ethics-for-self-driving-introducing-the-molly-problem/

We're highly encourage everyone to provide their input, and in turn, please share with others so more voices can be heard. We appreciate your support for AI4AD and the effort to shape global regulatory frameworks and safe standards for self-driving software!