Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Originals


Meet The Creators

  • Educator Patrick Lin
  • Director Yukai Du
  • Script Editor Amy Adkins
  • Animator Kevin O'Shea, Jiaqi Wang
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu


Additional Resources for you to Explore
Still wondering what ethics have to do with autonomous cars? Read this and find out more! Can a car be designed that has ethics? How about an autonomous car with adjustable ethics? Sound intriguing? Wired addresses this issue with this article: Here's A Terrible Idea: Robot Cars With Adjustable Ethics Settings. If that doesn't make you ponder, try another article from Wired: The Robot Car of Tomorrow May Just Be Programmed to Hit You. Still wondering about the success of programming a reliable autonomous vehicle? Google is too! Why? Their self driving cars have difficulty avoiding rear-end accidents. Read about this Google dilemma here. Finally, what if your autonomous car fails to follow a different route? Read this article: What If your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme? While your stomach might appreciate this daily routine, you have to wonder, could your car be hijacked by advertisements or learn to predict your habits?

Autonomous cars will save lives seems to be a popular opinion. Can autonomous cars save lives because the human factor of driving is removed from the scenario? The article: The Ethics of Saving Lives With Autonomous Cars Are Far Murkier Than You Think might just have some answers for you.

Killer robots and autonomous cars have similarities? What Google Cars Can Learn From Killer Robots might just give you some insight into how this may be a valid statement. Need some more deep thought on the concept of killer robots? Read: "Do Killer Robots Violate Human Rights?" This article addresses human dignity and responsibility when sending robots into war. Take a moment and reflect on what is written. What do you think?