Following his commentary on the European Commission’s report on the ethics of data and artificial intelligence in connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), which was published in October 2020, Jamie Witton was interviewed by journalist Graham Jarvis, from TU Automotive, on the topic.

The report asks questions about the existing dilemmas in the field that current ethics can’t solve; about the requirements in terms of safety, human dignity, personal freedom of choice and then data protection; and about distribution of responsibility.

Jamie observed that technical discussions are constantly ahead of where the legislation is, so it’s important that legislators look at the ethical issues emerging even at the current -limited- level of automation. There is a need for legislation and tech “to grow together.”

One of the main issues is that self driving technology generates a lot of data, often related to one or more identifiable people, so the collection and processing of that personal data must be lawful, fair and, importantly, transparent. Data protection law requires manufacturers to explain how their AI works, both at a technical and a layman’s level.

Given the novelty of the technology, and the ‘black box’ nature of the algorithms controlling the artificial intelligence of CAVs, explaining how the product works to users presents an obvious challenge. The AI must be capable of being audited, too.  “Without accountability, there is no trust”, he says.

You can read the full article on TU Automotive