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Tesla and the ethics of self-driving cars
Ben Rich charges his Tesla vehicle at a super charging station in New Jersey. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
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47:05
Self-driving technology has come a long way in recent years, but it remains far from perfect.
And that’s partially because of decisions made — not by the cars — but by programmers.
Tesla recalled 54,000 cars because of a feature built into the car’s autopilot that allowed it to roll through stop signs. In other words, it was programmed to break the law.
Today, On Point: Who should regulate the program in self-driving cars?
Guests
Rebecca Heilweil, reporter for Vox, covering emerging technologies, artificial intelligence and logistics. (@rebheilweil)
Matthew Johnson-Roberson, director of the Robotic Institute and professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. Former co-director of the Ford Center for Autonomous Vehicles at the University of Michigan.
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John Bernal, former Tesla employee who is beta testing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving on his YouTube channel AI Addict.
From The Reading List
Vox: “Why Tesla won’t stop” — “Tesla announced two massive recalls this week related to issues with its vehicles’ software. One of the recalls ordered Tesla to roll back a self-driving feature that caused the company’s cars to break the law.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDA1OTI3MjQ5MDEyODUwMTE2MzM1YzNmZA004))
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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