An Ethics Commission on Automated Driving in Germany has developed guidelines for the programming of automated driving systems. The report comprises 20 propositions. The key elements are:
- Automated and connected driving is an ethical imperative if the systems cause fewer accidents than human drivers (positive balance of risk).
- In hazardous situations, the protection of human life must always have top priority.
- In the event of unavoidable accident situations, any distinction between individuals based on personal features (age, gender, physical or mental constitution) is impermissible.
- In every driving situation, it must be clearly regulated and apparent who is responsible for the driving task: the human or the computer.It must be documented and stored who is driving (to resolve possible issues of liability, among other things).
- Drivers must always be able to decide themselves whether their vehicle data are to be forwarded and used (data sovereignty).