Building Ethics Into Autonomous Vehicles

As fully autonomous vehicles take to the road, how should we expect them to behave? Chris Gerdes, professor of mechanical engineering, emeritus, at Stanford Engineering, and Tony D’Amato, senior manager of autonomous vehicle systems engineering at Ford, have considered that question deeply as they have observed autonomous vehicles progress from concept to reality. In a conversation moderated by Stanford professor and Stanford Technology Ventures Program faculty director Tom Byers, Gerdes and D’Amato make the case that developing responsible autonomous vehicles is a matter of translating already existing legal and ethical principles into engineering requirements. They also explore how questions of ethics and principles permeate their broader careers as engineers. MB01HFJKBBFKOF8