This blog post examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding liability and punishment standards in the event of an autonomous vehicle accident.
February 23, 2016. This was the day Google’s self-driving car under development in San Francisco, USA, was involved in its first accident and became liable for it. This occurred because the self-driving car misjudged whether an oncoming bus would yield. This was Google’s self-driving car’s fault.
A driverless car refers to a vehicle capable of reaching its destination autonomously by assessing road conditions without driver operation. Driverless cars are also known as autonomous vehicles. They incorporate devices such as video cameras inside the windshield for recognizing road signs and a Global Positioning System (GPS). By attaching laser scanners to the car’s roof, it can avoid overtaking vehicles and adjust speed to match speed limits. Through these technologies, self-driving cars can detect their surroundings and operate autonomously without human intervention. They detect real-time environmental conditions independently and use predictive systems based on precise maps, utilizing GPS and other technologies. An autonomous vehicle is one where a computer, not a human, comprehensively judges all these factors and controls the vehicle’s drive system.
Many companies, including Google, are actively developing autonomous vehicles. The day when autonomous vehicles drive on actual roads seems not far off. Currently, test drives of autonomous vehicles are already being conducted in specific zones under limited conditions in some countries. This is based not only on technological readiness but also on legal and social consensus. For instance, these test drives enhance the safety of autonomous vehicles while simultaneously accumulating data on potential issues that may arise when they operate on roads.
However, several problems remain to be solved before autonomous vehicles can truly operate on roads. Among these are the issues of liability for accidents caused by autonomous vehicles and the question of punishment for such vehicles. Active discussion is needed regarding liability and punishment for accidents resulting from the fault of autonomous vehicles. Before autonomous vehicles begin full-scale operation on actual roads, a satisfactory conclusion and the enactment of relevant laws are necessary. Of course, the question of who bears responsibility when an autonomous vehicle causes an accident due to negligence has not been entirely absent from discussion. Most discussions have centered on the idea that either the autonomous vehicle company or the passenger should be held liable.
However, this issue extends beyond mere liability; it can be expanded into a discussion about how society will accept and regulate highly advanced technologies like autonomous vehicles. If liability for accidents caused by autonomous vehicles is placed solely on the manufacturer, this would impose a significant burden on them. While this could incentivize manufacturers to focus more intensely on technological improvements to enhance safety, it could also foster fear of adopting new technologies, potentially hindering innovation.
However, I believe that in the case of fully autonomous vehicles requiring no human intervention whatsoever, liability could potentially be assigned to the vehicle itself, rather than to the company or the passengers. Autonomous vehicles integrate artificial intelligence technology with information and communication technology. The incorporation of AI technology into an autonomous vehicle means that the decisions it makes based on observing road conditions could potentially result in outcomes not aligned with the manufacturer’s intended design. In such cases, it raises the question of whether the company that manufactured the autonomous vehicle can truly bear full responsibility. Furthermore, if the autonomous vehicle makes all decisions, I also believe passengers cannot be held liable. Therefore, I think the autonomous vehicle itself should bear a certain proportion of responsibility for accidents caused by its fault.
Legally, liability refers to the requirements for an actor who has committed a violation and can be subject to societal condemnation. Furthermore, criminal law explicitly defines who can bear responsibility as a person with capacity for responsibility. If autonomous vehicles become commercialized in the future, an era may arrive where we hold them liable for accidents. At that time, laws would need to be amended to include the artificial intelligence technology of the autonomous vehicle as the responsible party. And when the era of holding autonomous vehicles liable arrives, the issue of punishment for their negligence must also be discussed. Punishment is intended to penalize those responsible for crimes and prevent their recurrence. Many people would likely doubt whether punishment can truly be imposed on a non-human entity like an autonomous vehicle, or whether it would even be effective—a question that may not have been considered at all.
This raises an intriguing question: When an autonomous vehicle causes an accident, is holding it accountable sufficient? This also leads to the question of whether it can strengthen trust in the safety of autonomous vehicles. If the responsibility for an accident involving an autonomous vehicle is resolved solely through material compensation, it may not significantly help prevent future accidents. Rather, to reduce accidents, it is more important to thoroughly analyze the cause of the accident and improve the system based on that data.
However, I believe that if we hold autonomous vehicles accountable, punishment must be imposed. This punishment would likely take a form entirely different from the penalties currently imposed on humans under criminal law. In this context, we must also consider methodologies to reduce errors in autonomous vehicles. For instance, regulations may be needed stipulating that autonomous vehicles involved in a certain number of accidents must be taken out of service, followed by a comprehensive system inspection and improvement.
When an autonomous vehicle causes an accident through negligence, there must be an element of liability borne by the vehicle itself. Failure to do so could lead to innocent victims suffering from accidents caused by autonomous vehicle negligence and could create a situation where those developing autonomous vehicles pay less attention to safety. Therefore, I believe we must clearly define liability for accidents caused by autonomous vehicle negligence before the era arrives where such vehicles fully control all driving situations. This process will involve extensive discussion and debate. Furthermore, if autonomous vehicles are held liable, we must consider how that liability will be enforced, what penalties will be imposed, and what form those penalties will take.
Finally, for autonomous vehicles to establish themselves as safe and reliable modes of transportation, ethical and legal standards must evolve alongside technological maturity. This represents a new paradigm shift across society, raising questions about our level of preparedness. The challenges and discussions ahead demand deep reflection not merely on technical issues, but on the relationship between humans and machines, responsibility, and trust.
