Discussion on Social Construction of Autonomous Vehicles: Researching, Manufacturing, and Marketing

• In Event: Autonomous Vehicles - I: Practices and Policies of Autonomous Driving

Abstract

If science, technology, and innovation is but a social construction, then autonomous vehicle(s) (AVs) and its application would be no exception. This paper/presentation, taking AV decision making system of unavoidable accident for a case study, focused on three stages of construction: (i) academic consensus achieved by science communities on selection of ethical theories or intuitions in the accident algorithm design; (ii) industrial principles and agreements on AV safety system, e.g. ISO ASIL and IEEE A/IS; and (iii) public acceptance of AVs through government-led communication and education. To embody the social construction, this study collected 15 relevant academic papers, 5 relevant industrial regulations and public policies, and 30 media reports in China from 2013 to 2018. By using method of Qualitative Data Analysis and software NVivo, the 50 documents were coded and categorised into 4 subsets based on clustering analysis and frequency of words. Cross analysis revealed the structure and function of the social construction throughout the whole stages of researching, manufacturing, and marketing of the development of AV decision making system in China in the past five years. While the statistical results with limited samples might be of invalidity in other cases, this study could also be a reference showing some new angles of reflection on AVs innovation and publicity.

Authors

• Zheng Li, National Academy of Innovation Strategy, CAST

• Fujun Ren, NAIS, CAST

• Di Liu, College of Metropolitan Transportation, Beijing University of Technology

• Zhengfeng Li, Institute of Science, Technology and Society, Tsinghua University

• Xinqing Zhang, Peking Union Medical College

• HUI LUO, National Academy of Innovation Strategy,CAST