Kyle Kucharz

Professor Marzofka
Business Seminar
4/7/2017

How Safe Is Safe Enough

The automobile has been a major source of transportation for over one hundred and

brought new innovation and technology we could only have dreamt of. The car is a staple in our

everyday lives that millions of people rely on to get them from point a to point b. It has also

brought life to car enthusiasts who love to drive, has helped build our society, it has become a

national sport and a most recent topic which is they have given people jobs throughout the

United States. These and so many other reasons are why cars are so important to us and to our

thriving society, so why should we think about changing what has worked so well for over one

hundred years? With the recent technology boom in the past thirty years we as Americans have

wanted to integrate technology into everything. From coffee makers, watches, and everyday

items we are now looking to integrate some of the most advanced technology to our everyday

lives, self driving cars. Currently this is a major topic for majority of the large auto

manufacturers and are currently working to make this an everyday amenity, but is it ethical to do

so? Is it ethical to take the control of the driver away and give it to a computer? This is a topic

that is taking current America by storm and it is up to us to decide if it is worth the risk or not.

When reading through the article of choice the main topic was not how advanced the

technology on a self driving car could be, and how far technology has come. However that is

also interesting, the main focal point of the article was if we the consumers can trust a self

driving car with our own lives. This is an ethical issue that is facing both production company

and consumer. The automotive production companies are wondering if it is even worth the risk to
invest millions of dollars into this kind of technology; this is a big burden they must carry if they

choose to do so. If they choose to do so, do we as the consumers trust it enough to buy it.

Breaking this article down into smaller pieces to describe the real discussed problem that

these companies must face. Todays major automobile manufacturers such as Ford, Volkswagen,

General Motors, and Toyota are all working on their own rendition of self driving cars and the

technology that drives them. The advancement of this kind of technology is something that we

only had dreams of and now it is coming to reality, but the ethical issue is what these companies

need to focus on. According to The Washington Post article in 2015 more than 35,000 people

were killed in automotive accidents(Overly). Almost all of these accidents were caused by a

human error while driving which is what we are used to hearing is the cause. If one were to get

in a fatal car accident while sitting in a self driving vehicle who would be at fault, the person

inside the car or the computer controlling the car?

This is the major ethical decision that is putting the progression and production of these

cars into the everyday world. For these computer controlled cars to never get into an accident is

something that will not happen, we have human error and technology error and both can happen

anywhere at anytime. What if we can build a car that is 10 times as safe, which means 3,500

people will die on the roads each year. That was a statement by John Hanson a spokesperson

from the Toyota Research Institute. This statement raises the big question of will we accept that?

Are we as a society accepting of statistically having computer driving cars kill more than 3,000

people a year. In the world today if there is a fatal car accident it is due to another personas fault,

once that person is convicted of their wrong doing they pay their necessary dues for what they

have done. What is the procedure for a fatal self driving car, is the manufacturing company to

blame, or was there a chance for the driver to somehow avoid the accident. If this were to happen
it would cause more harm than just the fatal accident, which is a issue most companies do not

want to face.

Having this high of risk and liability frightens more people than just the auto

manufacturers. Behind the scenes of these multi billion dollar companies are numerous

stakeholders that all play a major role in the success of these companies. These people include

employees, investors, suppliers, community members, and most importantly the customers. The

ethical risk of putting a self driving/thinking car out in the public puts every one of those

pervious stakeholders at high risk. If a horrible accident were to happen at the cars fault the

employees would suffer. There is a chance that a very expensive lawsuit could happen and the

manufacturer needs more money, the first move is begin to lay off employees.

These employees had nothing to do with the incident and yet they have one of the

greatest chances of suffering from the negative effects. Investors would shy away from wanting

to do future business with a company that that is at very high risk as well, which can be

devastating for a large company. Some investors become the backbone of these major industries,

without them there is potential for the company to suffer. Suppliers could also back away from

companies due to keeping a positive reputation. Potentially no future companies will want to do

any business with a current supplier who also supplies a company with a high risk and is making

potential deadly vehicles. Community members can also suffer from this because they are

normally the majority of employees. My previous statement on the employees coincides with the

community members as well. If employees/community members are being laid off that is bad for

all the surrounding communities which is ultimately bad for our country. Without thriving

communities we could potentially fall into another recession. The most important stakeholder

that has the greatest impact is the customer. If a potential customer is hearing about all the issues
this auto manufacturer is having, it can easily drive them away from purchasing that specific

brand. Even if the customer is not looking at a self driving car, a high profile issue like this can

drive them away from that brand completely and move to other competitors.

When looking at the relevant business and financial dimensions of the problem they are

pretty straight forward. The ethical risk and liability these companies are taking is a large risk for

their business reputation and their current financial situation. In the past two years we have

witnessed a real world issue that was quite similar to the hypothetical self driving car issue. In

2015 Volkswagen was caught in a large emissions scandal where they were caught cheating on

the standard emissions tests to make their eco friendly cars look better. After this information

was released to the public Volkswagens business reputation and financial income took a major

hit. The next day after this information was released Volkswagens stock dropped almost 50%(La

Monica) putting them in an financial crisis. People refused to buy their cars and current owners

were enraged about the current situation. Volkswagen took a major reputation and financial hit

which has ended up putting a target on their back. Seeing this first hand in recent years shows us

exactly what can happen when a company takes a major hit, the ethical liability the auto

manufacturers are facing is very high and could not be worth the risk.

Pulling these ethical issues together there are a few that coincide with the core principles

of catholic social teaching. Out of the five core principles the ones that relate the most to this

ethical decision are communitarianism, human dignity, and human rights. Communitarianism

talks about the sole purpose of existence is to enter the experience of loving communion with

one another. We as human beings are not meant to live in isolation, we are meant to live with one

another. Relating this to the ethics of the article is should we allow computers to take over our

lives. Currently as a country we are struggling to provide enough jobs to be financially stable, the
sole purpose behind this is allowing computers to take over our jobs. This is very popular in the

automotive industry as well where robots are taking assembly line jobs rather than allowing

human interaction. As a human race who is ethically correct and abiding by the

communitarianism social teaching belong together and should be in control of our own lives and

actions. Allowing computers to start deciding for us is not ethically sound. We learn from our

mistakes, mistakes are part of human error and human nature, allowing robots to do such is not

part of the ethical teachings.

Human dignity is the one catholic social teaching that goes hand in hand with my articles

ethical issue. The principle of human dignity is acknowledging that human beings are most alive

and truly in touch with the dignity of their nature, when they are able to acknowledge and

actualize the links between themselves and God. We were all put here for a purpose and God has

a plan for each and every one of us. Every decision we make, every step we take is a part of his

master plan for us all to live the best lives we possibly can. If it is our time to go it is his doing

and that is what God wants. Taking the life of someone where no one is at fault is not a part of

this process. If one were to get in a fatal accident due to a computer error and not Gods doing;

that is completely against Gods will and our own human dignity. We should not allow this to

happen and we have the power to not allow this to happen by going against putting our precious

lives in the hands of a machine.

The last catholic social teaching principle that relates to my article is the principle of

human rights. Human rights gives shape and substance to the simple idea of human dignity.

Many of the human rights the church recognizes go against the ethical decision to allow self

driving cars. A few examples include the right of life, the right of freedom, the right to choose

state of life, the right of property and work, and the right of movement. All of these human rights
are rights in which we have control of to live the life God created for us. By taking these rights

away that is taking Gods doing away. These catholic social teaching principles are the proper

ethics in which we should live by, they are the proper guidelines to help us live and enjoy life.

Taking these away from our own human decision is not only hurting our potential to live life, but

going against these principles which is what we never want to do. We want to follow the path

that was given to us.

In conclusion there are many possible solutions to this ethical situation. The easiest

ethical solution would be to simply eliminate the thought of self driving cars and continue to

advance the automobile in more efficient ways such as building an engine that runs on other

fuels besides gasoline. We currently do have these types of engines but they are not

commercially produces, and there are many other fuels that can be converted into a fuel to power

the engine. Another possible solution would be advancing the hybrid market. Using valuable

money in helping our planet live longer and creating more main stream environmentally friendly

cars is a better use financially than wasting millions on potential test subjects that are being

smashed daily. These are all possible solutions but unfortunately I do not believe this is where

things will go. With the recent advancement push of technology we as consumers want the best

and most up to date electronic material possible. We want the hottest thing on the market, and

there is nothing that shouts technology more than a self driving automobile. Ethically speaking I

do not believe this is the smartest decision, thousands of lives can be at risk by a simple

computer error versus human error which is what we know and accept. Limiting human deaths

from 35,000 to 3,500 is an amazing task, but a death is still a death and I personally do not

believe this is something we will believe until we unfortunately see it first hand.
 Bibliography

La Monica, Paul R. . "Volkswagen has plunged 50%. Will it ever recover?" CNN

Money . CNN, 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.

<http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/24/investing/volkswagen-vw-emissions-scandal-stock/>.Overly,

Stephen. "The big moral dilemma facing self-driving cars."

 The Washington Post . The Washington Post , 20 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2017.

<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news innovations/wp/2017/02/20/the-big-moral-dilemma-

facing-self-driving-cars utm_term=.b594724150f5>.