Self-driving cars will pose ethical issues: Audi executive

TORONTO – A senior Audi research executive says society’s readiness to embrace self-driving cars is one of the biggest challenges facing automakers.

Markus Auerbach says developing the technology is only one component of the shift towards autonomous driving.

He says the bigger challenge will be ethical decisions that robots will have to make while operating vehicles.

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For example, a autonomous vehicle that can’t avoid a collision could be forced to choose between hitting a child who is crossing the street and an elderly woman on a bike.

Auerbach heads up the Audi Innovation Research office in San Francisco.

He commented Friday at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.