Glossary of selected technical terms

• Pages: 12-13

GLOSSARY OF SELECTED

TECHNICAL TERMS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI): AI systems are soware (and possibly also

hardware) systems that, given a complex goal, act in the physical or digital dimension by

perceiving their environment through data acquisition, interpreting the collected structured

or unstructured data, reasoning on the knowledge, or processing the information, derived

from this data and deciding the best action(s) to take to achieve the given goal. AI systems

can either use symbolic rules or learn a numeric model, and they can also adapt their

behaviour by analysing how the environment is af‌fected by their previous actions1.

AGENT: A human individual with the power to act on the basis of intentions, beliefs

and desires. In this report, the term “agent” (and associated terms such as “agency” and

“human agent”) is used in this philosophical sense and not in the legal sense of a person

who acts on behalf of another. In this philosophical sense, agency is typically understood

to be a prerequisite for moral capacity and responsibility. The term is only used in relation

to humans and is not used to refer to artif‌icial agents or autonomous systems.

ALGORITHMS: Mechanisms for decision-making based on a set of digital rules and

using input/output sources, encompassing Artif‌icial intelligence (AI) algorithms, developed

with the intention of mimicking human intelligence. In CAVs, algorithms are embedded in

hardware and soware, and can be based on other systems besides AI.

AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEM: Hardware and soware that are collectively

capable of performing the dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether

it is limited to a specif‌ic operational design domain.

BLACK-BOX: In the context of AI and machine learning-based CAV systems, the black-

box refers to cases where it is not possible to trace back the reason for certain decisions due

to the complexity of machine learning techniques and their opacity in terms of unravelling

the processes through which such decisions have been reached.

CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED VEHICLES (CAVS):

Vehicles that are both

connected and automated and display one of the f‌ive levels of automation according to SAE

International’s standard J3016, combined with the capacity to receive and/or send wireless

information to improve the vehicle’s automated capabilities and enhance its contextual awareness.

CULTURE: The ideas, practices, beliefs and values of a group of people. This term is used

frequently in this report with respect to creating an ethical and responsible set of ideas, practices,

beliefs and values among those involved in the manufacture, deployment and use of CAVs.

12 Ethics of Connected and Automated Vehicles