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Case Study: Autonomous Vehicles: Technological Changes and Ethical Challenges
1. What are the primary issues in this case? Be as specific as possible.
There are several important issues in this case. The most critical problem is safety. According to
John Capp, GM’s director of Global Active Safety Electronics and Innovation, the primary task
of developing GM’s autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle is to be safe under any situation.
The next problem is that drivers may rely more on the semi-autonomous vehicle, which is
dangerous for themselves and others on the road because we cannot guarantee the semi-
autonomous vehicle is 100% safe. After all, this is a new technique and is developing in the
beginning stage. For example, some drivers even fell asleep in the semi-autonomous car, which
might cause some terrible outcomes if something unexpected happened. Then, the liability for
some accidents is not apparent because there is no standards or specific laws about automated
vehicles. At the same time, few regulations can be applied to automated vehicles in the state
governments. Also, the ethical problems are significant in this case. The automated vehicles are
designed to reduce the injuries caused by car accidents, but it would create more wounds if it
were not designed well. Therefore, it was in an ethical dilemma now.
2. What are the internal points of conflict (trade-offs) that exist for GM/Cadillac?
Cadillac belongs to the luxury car in the market, but it is hard to compete with other brands, like
BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc. From 2013 to 2014, the Cadillac sales dropped 6.5%, which was a
significant decrease and hard to recover in the short time. Therefore, GM hopes to attract more
young people by focusing more on the technique because autonomous vehicles are very hot and
accessible, especially for young people in the market. Therefore, GM wants to rejuvenate their
luxury brand, Cadillac, by the autonomous vehicles.
1
This study source was downloaded by 100000839739811 from CourseHero.com on 03-06-2022 03:02:06 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/37113970/Case-Study-3docx/
Case Study: Autonomous Vehicles: Technological Changes and Ethical Challenges
1. What are the primary issues in this case? Be as specific as possible.
There are several important issues in this case. The most critical problem is safety. According to
John Capp, GM’s director of Global Active Safety Electronics and Innovation, the primary task
of developing GM’s autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle is to be safe under any situation.
The next problem is that drivers may rely more on the semi-autonomous vehicle, which is
dangerous for themselves and others on the road because we cannot guarantee the semi-
autonomous vehicle is 100% safe. After all, this is a new technique and is developing in the
beginning stage. For example, some drivers even fell asleep in the semi-autonomous car, which
might cause some terrible outcomes if something unexpected happened. Then, the liability for
some accidents is not apparent because there is no standards or specific laws about automated
vehicles. At the same time, few regulations can be applied to automated vehicles in the state
governments. Also, the ethical problems are significant in this case. The automated vehicles are
designed to reduce the injuries caused by car accidents, but it would create more wounds if it
were not designed well. Therefore, it was in an ethical dilemma now.
2. What are the internal points of conflict (trade-offs) that exist for GM/Cadillac?
Cadillac belongs to the luxury car in the market, but it is hard to compete with other brands, like
BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc. From 2013 to 2014, the Cadillac sales dropped 6.5%, which was a
significant decrease and hard to recover in the short time. Therefore, GM hopes to attract more
young people by focusing more on the technique because autonomous vehicles are very hot and
accessible, especially for young people in the market. Therefore, GM wants to rejuvenate their
luxury brand, Cadillac, by the autonomous vehicles.
1
This study source was downloaded by 100000839739811 from CourseHero.com on 03-06-2022 03:02:06 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/37113970/Case-Study-3docx/
