THE EFFECT OF RELIGIOSITY ON DECISION MAKING IN SELF-DRIVING CARS: THE CASE OF “THE ETHICAL KNOB”

Abstract

This study focuses on the ethical dilemmas of self-driving cars and how religiosity levels affect consumers' perceptions of morality. The research examines how religiosity affects consumers' comfort levels and moral perceptions of the "ethical knob" and the "ethical knob's" settings, which would allow the passenger of a self-driving car to determine how the car reacts in an unavoidable accident. The study does not support hypotheses concerning the effects of religiosity; however, the vast majority of respondents regardless of religiosity believed the Impartial setting was most moral, and they were most comfortable with it. This study concludes that religiosity levels alone do not affect consumers' moral perceptions of the "ethical knob" and the "ethical knob" settings, and it exposes some interesting disconnects. One would believe that more religious individuals would prefer the Impartial setting over those who are not religious due to the moral principles laid out by their religion, but the study does not support this assumption. It is likely that overall cultural differences affect consumers' moral perceptions rather than one element of culture. We must conduct more research on society's cultural elements to fully understand the moral perceptions involved and how they will affect the future of self-driving cars.