Driverless cars are colliding with the creepy Trolley Problem

Philosophers have been gnawing on the infamous Trolley Problem for decades, and it’s always been a purely intellectual exercise with no “right” answer. But we’re suddenly in a world in which autonomous machines, including self-driving cars, have to be programmed to deal with Trolley Problem-like emergencies in which lives hang in the balance. There’s no dodging the issue: The programmers have to decide how machines can behave appropriately in crunch time (as it were).