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Drivers are blamed more than their automated cars when both make mistakes

Author

Listed:
  • Edmond Awad

    (Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    University of Exeter Business School)

  • Sydney Levine

    (Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Harvard University)

  • Max Kleiman-Weiner

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Harvard University)

  • Sohan Dsouza

    (Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Joshua B. Tenenbaum

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Azim Shariff

    (University of British Columbia Vancouver)

  • Jean-François Bonnefon

    (Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    University of Toulouse Capitole)

  • Iyad Rahwan

    (Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Max-Planck Institute for Human Development
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

When an automated car harms someone, who is blamed by those who hear about it? Here we asked human participants to consider hypothetical cases in which a pedestrian was killed by a car operated under shared control of a primary and a secondary driver and to indicate how blame should be allocated. We find that when only one driver makes an error, that driver is blamed more regardless of whether that driver is a machine or a human. However, when both drivers make errors in cases of human–machine shared-control vehicles, the blame attributed to the machine is reduced. This finding portends a public under-reaction to the malfunctioning artificial intelligence components of automated cars and therefore has a direct policy implication: allowing the de facto standards for shared-control vehicles to be established in courts by the jury system could fail to properly regulate the safety of those vehicles; instead, a top-down scheme (through federal laws) may be called for.

Suggested Citation

  • Edmond Awad & Sydney Levine & Max Kleiman-Weiner & Sohan Dsouza & Joshua B. Tenenbaum & Azim Shariff & Jean-François Bonnefon & Iyad Rahwan, 2020. "Drivers are blamed more than their automated cars when both make mistakes," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(2), pages 134-143, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:4:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1038_s41562-019-0762-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0762-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Cai, Yunhao & Jing, Peng & Wang, Baihui & Jiang, Chengxi & Wang, Yuan, 2023. "How does “over-hype” lead to public misconceptions about autonomous vehicles? A new insight applying causal inference," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Zhai, Siming & Gao, Shan & Wang, Lin & Liu, Peng, 2023. "When both human and machine drivers make mistakes: Whom to blame?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Mathieu Chevrier & Vincent Teixeira, 2024. "Algorithm Control and Responsibility: Shifting Blame to the User?," GREDEG Working Papers 2024-04, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.

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