Impact of Driverless Technology on Society and Its Ethical and Morality Problem

The Impact of Driverless Technology on Society Now and Its Ethical and Morality Problem
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The Impact of Driverless Technology on Society Now and Its Ethical and Morality Problem 1.0 Introduction             Autonomous vehicles are among the most anticipated technological development of the current era. Produced and marketed in tandem with the increasing need for clean energy sources, the vehicles will revolutionize the transport sector and have wide-ranging societal implications (Herrmann, Brenner, & Stadler, 2018). Further, the technology comes accompanied by many ethical and moral implications that may determine how soon the technology becomes adopted globally in day-to-day transportation activities. Therefore, the current paper seeks to investigate the impact of autonomous vehicles on society and the moral and ethical implications that they will create. The information is essential because it will add to the growing body of knowledge that will guide the legal and safety aspects of the technology on our roads. 2.0 Background             An autonomous vehicle can also be described as a driverless car. According to Kaur and Rampersad (2018), an autonomous car is a robotic vehicle that works without a human operator. In other words, it is the car in which some or all aspects of critical control function, like braking, steering, and throttle, occur without the direct input of a human. Hence, these vehicles have five levels of automation: from no automation to partial and full automation. The technology is already being tested on roads, and some jurisdictions have established legislations that will aid in this promising experimentation. In 2018, for instance, California enacted a new regulation that allows manufacturers to test the technology. Manufacturers must adhere to numerous requirements in this legislation, focusing on state regulation and accident liability (Roe, 2019). While this law, among others, paves the way for autonomous vehicles, the numerous they require of manufacturers imply that there are many aspects of the technology that are yet to be addressed.             Autonomous vehicle technology has been touted as vital for modern society. Firstly, it is a landmark in technological advancement and may form an enduring symbol of the fourth industrial revolution. As Elliot (2021) writes, the 4^th Industrial Revolution will be driven via self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles. In essence, technology is the current generation's signature on the history of human development through technology. Furthermore, the technology, marketing in tandem with developments in clean energy sources, has been touted as a solution to reducing emissions from our roads (Massar et al., 2021). This is a vital prospect since global warming and climate change are core global crises. Lastly, the technology is expected to reduce accidents on our roads, given that over 90% (WHO, 2015) (Kirkpatrick, 2015) of accidents are attributed to human error. Automation will see a...