Keeping the driver in the loop: the ‘other’ ethics of automation

Automated vehicles are expected to revolutionise everyday travel withanticipated benefits of improved road safety, comfort and mobility. However,they also raise complex ethical challenges. Ethical debates have primarily centred around moral judgements that must be made by autonomous vehicles in safetycritical situations, with proposed solutions typically based on deontological principles or consequentialism. However, ethics should also be acknowledged in the design, development and deployment of partially-automated systems that invariably rely upon the human driver to monitor and intervene when required, even though they may be ill-prepared to do so. In this literature review, we explore the lesser-discussed ethics associated with the role of, and expectations placed upon, the human driver in partially-automated vehicles, discussing factors such as the marketing and deployment of these vehicles, and the impact upon the human driver’s development of trust and complacency in automated functionality, concluding that the human driver must be kept ‘in the loop’ at all times

The “Out-of-the-Loop” concept in automated driving: proposed definition, measures and implications

Despite an abundant use of the term “Out of the loop” (OOTL) in the context of automated driving and human factors research, there is currently a lack of consensus on its precise definition, how it can be measured, and the practical implications of being in or out of the loop during automated driving. The main objective of this paper is to consider the above issues, with the goal of achieving a shared understanding of the OOTL concept between academics and practitioners. To this end, the paper reviews existing definitions of OOTL and outlines a set of concepts, which, based on the human factors and driver behaviour literature, could serve as the basis for a commonly-agreed definition. Following a series of working group meetings between representatives from academia, research institutions and industrial partners across Europe, North America, and Japan, we suggest a precise definition of being in, out, and on the loop in the driving context. These definitions are linked directly to whether or not the driver is in physical control of the vehicle, and also the degree of situation monitoring required and afforded by the driver. A consideration of how this definition can be operationalized and measured in empirical studies is then provided, and the paper concludes with a short overview of the implications of this definition for the development of automated driving functions