Algorithmic Morality and Moral Decision Making for Automated Vehicles: A Confucian Account

This chapter contends that algorithmic morality can never supplant a human moral agent. Regardless of their sophistication, automated vehicles are unable to navigate moral dilemmas in a morally responsible manner. By delineating the distinct roles that machines and humans assume in moral decision-making for automated vehicles, we advocate for a pragmatic alternative moral framework rooted in Confucian machine ethics. Accordingly, it is suggested that driverless automated vehicles should only be used on closed-up roads built specifically for such vehicles, while on other roads, the autonomous machine must be held under the control of responsible human agents to deal with emergent situations.