Skip to main content

The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars - Patrick Lin

2,000,748 Views

55,399 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can’t completely avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it encounters an unavoidable accident? Patrick Lin navigates the murky ethics of self-driving cars.

Which design principle for crash decisions seems the most ethical to you and why: to minimize harm, protect the driver over other drivers, treat everyone equally, hand back control to the driver, follow the law, or something else?

Login to answer question

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Patrick Lin
  • Director Yukai Du
  • Script Editor Amy Adkins
  • Animator Kevin O'Shea, Jiaqi Wang
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

More from The Big Questions