Age differences in the anticipated acceptance of egoistic versus altruistic crash-control-algorithms in automated vehicles

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an online questionnaire study (N = 97) which examined participants’ anticipated acceptance of crash-control-algorithms (CCAs, i.e., algorithms aimed at effecting certain ethical accident outcomes). Concerning a self-sacrifice trolley dilemma, participants displayed a specific age-dependent pattern, in which both younger (18 – 44 years) and older (65+ years) participants rated their acceptance for egoistic algorithms higher and for altruistic algorithms lower when compared to middle-aged participants (45 – 64 years).