What’s the Issue (topic):
The creation of automated vehicles are becoming a reality and will soon be on the public roads everywhere but are they fully efficient in following the engineering and federal protocols.
Research Question?
Q: Does autonomous vehicles follow the engineering code of ethics and the federal regulations?
Title of Paper:
Engineering Ethics of Automated Vehicles: The Engineering Code and Federal Regulations
I. Introduction (12-15 lines):
This section should include a hook, pro and con (counter-claim) and a thesis statement (your claim) at the end of your introductory paragraph.
The first practical vehicle with a gasoline powered engine, that are like vehicles today, was invented by Karl Benz in Germany in 1886. Vehicles were later innovated further by car companies that the world knows today. Automobile technology has developed immensely and is still continuously improving. A key development that has shocked the world is the introduction of automation vehicles, also known as self-driving technology, by Google in 2009. With Google introducing the world to the technology, many companies, such as Tesla, Ford, Volvo, Toyota, etc., are continuously engineering the technology into their products. The controversy of the technology is if the engineering of the vehicles is truly ethical. As engineers of automation technology, they must follow a set of ethical codes established by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Engineers define ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad, right and wrong, and with moral duty and obligation”, which then leads into the established code of ethics: 1. Accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health, and welfare of the public, and promptly disclose factors that might endanger the public or the environment; 2. Improve the understanding of technology; its appropriated application, and potential consequences; 3. Maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience; 4 Be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data. By these standards, automated vehicles are ethical as long as the engineering of them adhere to the set code of ethics.
II. Body Paragraphs:
1. This is a section where you list out your points of argument (main points). To be specific, you can show each point with illustration or support of your argument.
- A national survey on how people feel about self-driving and their ability to drive compared to the technology. (Nees 2019)
- The survey was conducted online in the United States to see how people feel about their driving ability. The survey also asked how people would feel about letting their vehicle take them from point A to point B.
- Levels of automation technology (Vellinga 2017)
- Describes the different levels of automation technology that a vehicle could potentially have. A table will be provided to go into depth about the levels of automation.
- Advantages of automation technology (Vellinga 2017) (Borenstein 2019) (Slaby 2019)
- Describes how automation technology have benefits to the public as long as it follows the code of ethics. Giving examples of potential benefits.
- Disadvantages of automation technology (Nyholm 2016) (Borenstein 2019)
- Describes how automation technology have risks associated with the technology, which go against the ethics code of engineers. Giving examples of possible risks.
- Counterargument: If there are such disadvantages to the automation technology, is it truly ethical to use the technology. Rebuttal: There is no innovations in this world that don’t have some form of risk associated with the design.
- Regulations of automation technology (Vellinga 2017)
- Describes the government regulations and requirements to test self-driving cars on public roads. Implement how the engineering ethics must be followed to test these self-driving cars.
III. Conclusion:
1. For this section, you can conclude your argument by asking if your entire argument (all of the points you make) convincing or persuasive.
Automation vehicles will soon be driven by individuals all over the world because multiple companies will integrate the technology into their vehicles. There are many advantages and disadvantages to the automation technology, and it still has room to improve. However, by engineers continuously developing and improving the technology to guarantee that the public’s safety is the most significant factor, they can ensure that the technology will be fully efficient by the standards set by policymakers and the engineering code of ethics. Engineers must also be prepared to solve any other malfunctions or defects that autonomous vehicles will face in the future. Therefore, if companies want to produce and sell automation technology to the consumers so that self-driving vehicles are the new norm for vehicles, then they must abide by the regulations not only set by the government but engineers also. Engineers must also be prepared to solve any other malfunctions or defects that autonomous vehicles will face in the future.
2. Also, what rhetorical appeals do you use for your persuasive argument?
Rhetorical appeals that are used in my argumentative research paper are logos, ethos, and pathos.
IV. Works Cited (References) – Create a list of five scholarly sources (not those you have already used for the 1st set of 5-annotated sources)
References
Borenstein, J., Herkert, J.R., Miller, K.W. (2019). Self-driving cars and engineering ethics: The need for a system level analysis. Science & Engineering Ethics, 25(2), 383-398. 10.1007/s11948-017-0006-0
Nees, Michael A. (2019). Safer than the average human driver (who is less safe than me)? Examining a popular safety benchmark for self-driving cars. Journal of Safety Research, 69, 61-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2019.02.002
Nyholm, S., Smids, J. (2016). The ethics of accident-algorithms for self-driving cars: an applied trolley problem. Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, 19(5), 1275-1289. 10.1007/s10677-016-9745-2
Slaby, Cheryl (2019). Decision-making self-driving car control algorithms: intelligent transportation systems, sensing and computing technologies, and connected autonomous vehicles. Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice, 11(2), 29-35. 10.22381/crlsj11220194
Vellinga, Nynke E. (2017). From the testing to the deployment of self-driving cars: Legal challenged to policymakers on the road ahead. Computer Law & Security Review, 33(6), 847-863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2017.05.006
MATHEWS, S. A. (2020). When Rubber Meets the Road: Balancing Innovation and Public Safety in the Regulation of Self-Driving Cars. Boston College Law Review, 61(1), 295–338.
A Genius Thought (JPB) 