Section 3: Making A Difference

For this section, view the segments below from CNN Business and CBS This Morning.

Why Ford Hired An Ethicist To Deal With Driverless Cars (Time: 3:02, closed captions available from Amara)

Should driverless cars make ethical decisions? (Time: 4:08, closed captions available from Amara)

Demonstrate how a person can make a difference in the business world from an ethical perspective by answering the following question:

• Assume that you are employed with an auto manufacturer in the area of autonomous vehicle development. You are assigned to supply the software engineers with the instructions for the vehicle to address the same scenario proposed by the former Ford CEO in the CNN video segment. The car is driving and sees a mother in the crosswalk with a baby carriage and it is unable to stop. The car views children playing on the sidewalk on the left side and an elderly couple walking on the sidewalk on the right side. What should the car do? Support your rationale. Also indicate why your decision follows (or does not follow) the "utilitarian" approach discussed in Modules 1 and 2, and in the CBS video segment.