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Delegating Moral Dilemmas in Autonomous Vehicles Evidence from an online experiment in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yuhong Gao

    (Fudan University [Shanghai])

  • Thierry Blayac

    (UM - Université de Montpellier, CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier)

  • Marc Willinger

    (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier)

Abstract

We conducted a study to assess the impact of a delegation option on moral decision-making using an online questionnaire based on the Moral Machine paradigm1. Interestingly, the inclusion of a delegation option did not significantly alter individuals' moral tradeoffs. Nevertheless, when presented with the option, most participants opted for delegation as a means to avoid the moral burden of challenging decisions, regardless of the delegate's profile. Factors influencing this choice included gender (favoring females), occupation (doctors), education level (lower), a strong sense of altruism, less frequent driving, and greater risk aversion. Additionally, participants displayed a preference for saving more lives, with particular emphasis on babies, pregnant women, doctors, and law-abiding victims, indicating a general aversion to death.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuhong Gao & Thierry Blayac & Marc Willinger, 2025. "Delegating Moral Dilemmas in Autonomous Vehicles Evidence from an online experiment in China," Post-Print hal-05058037, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05058037
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.04.017
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05058037v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edmond Awad & Sohan Dsouza & Richard Kim & Jonathan Schulz & Joseph Henrich & Azim Shariff & Jean-François Bonnefon & Iyad Rahwan, 2018. "The Moral Machine experiment," Nature, Nature, vol. 563(7729), pages 59-64, November.
    2. Zsófia Tóth & Robert Caruana & Thorsten Gruber & Claudia Loebbecke, 2022. "The Dawn of the AI Robots: Towards a New Framework of AI Robot Accountability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 895-916, July.
    3. Yulia W. Sullivan & Samuel Fosso Wamba, 2022. "Moral Judgments in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 917-943, July.
    4. Azim Shariff & Jean-François Bonnefon & Iyad Rahwan, 2017. "Psychological roadblocks to the adoption of self-driving vehicles," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(10), pages 694-696, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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