Benevolence means one cares about others and is motivated to act in the other person’s welfare. In the context of autonomous driving, it means the autonomous vehicles need to show that it is capable of making the kind choice. Usually, we push the button on the traffic light if we are intent to cross the street and then wait for the pedestrian light to turn green. But what if someone is in hurry and crosses the light in red? The human driver probably will slow down since it is inhuman and immoral to hurt other human beings on purpose. How can we make sure a machine can make the same choice, which is to stop before a green traffic light if there is a human crossing the street even if that human is breaking the rule. It will be more challenging if autonomous vehicles face ethical choices such as the “trolley problem”. However, the benevolent attitude of autonomous driving will always be an unavoidable issue for trustworthiness.
Honesty means one tells the truth and fulfills promises. Under the context of autonomous driving, it means providing accurate information about the surroundings’ condition and appropriate feedback to the user. The vehicle needs to provide a wider view of the world if necessary, which will allow a better understanding of the world to users. It could be evidence of vehicles reacting to other traffic and the environment. It is the car telling the user, “ I see the bus, don’t worry and I will handle the situation.”With appropriate classified feedback through sound, visual indicator, or haptic surface, it can alleviate anxiety in passengers. The trust may be built during the transparent communication between user and vehicle.
Competence means one is capable of achieving the goal that needs to be done, which means the autonomous vehicle can drive itself in a given situation. Waymo launched its driverless taxi service to the public in 2020. They are far from winning the driverless technology race, but it continues to be the clear industry leader. With more tests and studies in computer science in the future, the goal of fully self-driving seems to be achievable. That time, it will be necessary for designers to help the public to believe that autonomous vehicles are competent to do their job well. Research says any exposure to driverless technologies is beneficial to reducing concerns or increasing user acceptance, which means increasing familiarity with the advanced technologies to the public seems like one of the effective ways to increase positive attitudes and build trust in driverless vehicles.
Predictability means consistently doing what one will do so that another can make a prediction. In an autonomous vehicle, predicable behave from an automation system is beneficial to provide the user with a sense of control, which will make people feel confident about what they’re doing and what they’ll be able to accomplish. In the interview of semi-autonomous vehicles users, one of the users mentioned that he become familiar with the timing to take over from cars during his driverless life with his car. It takes time, but with a predictable, positive experience, users will know about how the experience should unfold, including the timing to change the lane or brake, etc. There is also an opportunity for designers to build a communication system to indicate the regularity of autonomous vehicles, which will help users to understand it. Therefore, the user will be able to give up the sense of control, then build trust in autonomous driving gradually.