Neither Pollyanna nor Chicken Little: Thoughts on the ethics of automation

Abstract

The terms Pollyanna and Chicken Little are used as caricatures for those who are relentlessly positive and those who, in contrast, see problems in everything. Many opinions about automation in aviation tend to reflect these contrasting viewpoints. In this paper we propose the introduction of an ethical safety case as a means to reconcile these views by clearly articulating ethical issues involved in automation.