Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Framework for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Autonomous Vehicles

Abstract

One innovation that can transform mobility into smart mobility that is fast, efficient, sustainable while ensuring ease of access in the present era is the development of autonomous vehicles that are powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). From ?Faturnama‘ in 1939 to the current era of Google‘s AlphaGo, Waymo and Tesla, AI driven technology has had a ground-breaking impact on society while challenging the traditional concepts of ethics, accountability, liability, privacy and data security among others. While international norms like the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic are being amended to account for this transformative technology, effective self-regulation that is strengthened by laws that are adaptive in nature is essential as there have already been instances of autonomous vehicles acting in a manner that would threaten human life and cause the death. This is especially applicable to the Indian situation which lacks a sui generis legislation to address the development of autonomous vehicles even though various legislations exist that address the facets of motor vehicles and liability. This paper aims to evaluate the existing framework with regards to its readiness to meet new challenges posed by AI in autonomous vehicles. It would also propose a new model / framework to deal with these challenges especially in the Indian situation. The authors would use doctrinal method and critically analyze the present situation through a multi-country analysis of the existing framework regarding autonomous vehicles through global best practices and ensuring the implementation of this technology while safeguarding everyone against the challenges that it poses.