Self-Driving Cars

I. Video: BMW

Answer the following questions after watching the video.

1. What colors are important in the video?
2. Describe the voice of the narrator. Describe the music. How do they make you feel?
3. What is this video? (drama, influencer, advertisement, comedy, etc.)
4. Describe the people that you see in the video. Overall, do they share any similarities?
5. Who created this video? Who is the audience of this video?

II. Forming Your Opinion

Write two lists with as many reasons as possible:
Why are self-driving cars good?
Why are they bad?

In your opinion, are self-driving cars more positive or more negative for society? Why?

III. Video: Ethical Implications

Put each vocabulary word into the correct sentence.

• heavy – difficult to move; large weight
• avoid – to NOT do something or see something
• swerve – to change direction very quickly
• safety – security; protected from danger
• hit – when an object touches something else; usually, with force
• forethought – consideration of what will happen in the future
• instruct – teach
• premeditated – to think or to plan in advance; usually, a crime
• traffic – a lot of cars on the roads
• autonomous – self-driving; in control of itself

1. They _______________ their plan to steal money from the bank.
2. I had to _______________ so I would not hit the dog in the road.
3. My cat weighs 20 kilos. He is very _______________!
4. The _______________ is always terrible at 5:00 P.M. There are too many cars on the roads!
5. The computer was slow, and she was angry, so she _______________ the computer with her hand.
6. I do not live with my parents anymore; I am now _______________.
7. You should _______________ Jaude this weekend. There will be a lot of people there.
8. The police and the firefighters work for the _______________ of the public.
9. I am a teacher, so I _______________ my students.
10. They had the _______________ to prepare for their vacation in advance.

Pre-Questions: Video 2

Answer the following questions before watching the video.

1. What is the difference between a decision and a reaction?
2. Who should make ethical decisions in a society? (the people, the government, robots, companies, etc.)
3. Do you trust other drivers? Do you trust companies?

IV. Homework Questions

1. According to the video, what are some ethical problems of self-driving cars?
2. Who should be responsible for making the ethical decisions in a self-driving car’s programming – the companies, the consumers, or the government? Why?
3. Would you like to have a self-driving car? Why or why not?
4. In your opinion, are self-driving cars more positive or more negative for society? Why?
5. Name at least one problematic thing that you noticed in the BMW advertisement (video one).

Just for fun: MIT’s Moral Machine Experiment