Devry ETHC445 Week 7 Discussion Latest 2021 June

ETHC445 Principles of Ethics

Week 7 Discussion

Personal and Business Ethics

This week we look at codes of ethics and career applications. Let's try on professional roles as we work on this scenario, adapted from this case.

Auto Autos

"Self-driving cars are being tested, and the results look good. For a few years now, auto manufacturers have been developing a variety of crash-prevention features for new cars, such as forward-collision warning systems (which alert the driver and even brake the car when it gets too close to the car in front), blind-spot monitoring systems, and lane-departure warnings. Such technologies most likely will be integrated into fully automated cars when they are developed.

Since a vast majority of current accidents are caused by human errors, many advantages will probably accrue as more and more cars become self-driving. Traffic congestion should also be eased as the new cars will not hesitate or become confused, they will maintain a steady and safe speed, and they will select alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic, accidents, or construction.

Some issues remain murky, however. If a self-driving car does get into an accident, who is liable, the driver or the automaker? Arguably, the driver may still be at fault were he or she to fail to override the car’s actions manually when possible. The manufacturer could also be in an especially vulnerable position if a death were found to be caused by a decision programmed into the car. If a car, for example, swerves to avoid hitting another car and hits a pedestrian instead, the car will have done so because it was programmed to save the driver’s life at the expense of a pedestrian’s.

Besides legal dilemmas, there are knotty ethical ones as well. Were every car on the road to drive itself, there would still be hazards caused by cyclists, pedestrians, pets, road conditions, and obstructions. Such hazards call for value-based decisions and someone has the task of selecting those values that will determine the car’s actions. Obviously, if a car cannot brake in time to avoid hitting either a person or a dog, the car will hit whichever one it has been programmed to hit. As cars are programmed to be better able to identify and categorize objects around them, more nuanced action alternatives may be available. If killing one or another person is unavoidable, should both persons be rated identically, or should children be favored over adults? Those in their "prime" or the elderly? Women over men? People in suits over people in jeans? Disabled over able-bodied? Obese rather than agile? People in the car’s address book over all others? Kittens over pitbulls? The car itself over every non-human?"

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https://news.cnrs.fr/opinions/the-ethics-and-morals-of-self-driving-cars

Our class is a team of lawyers, project managers, engineers, and congressional aides who are all part of the process of helping get this project off the ground. In fact, according to the first letter of your last name, you are the following team:

A-G: Attorney

H-N: Project Manager

O-S: Engineer

T-Z:  Congressional Aide

Join the team corresponding to your surname. Now to the task at hand:

Utilizing your profession's code of ethics (if applicable), principles you've studied this term, and/ or compliance standards, what would be your first step? Who would you talk to first? Would you go to the press? Would you go to your boss? Should you do anything at all?

Find out your alphabetical group before answering this initial query. Stick together to respond to other team members accordingly, so we all can cover the four roles collectively.