What’s the Matter with “Trolley Problems” in China? “Catching Up” with the West Hampers Genuine Cultural Research

Emerging technologies should generate new possibilities and novel discussions. However, in China these possibilities and discussions are hampered by Western paradigms of technology ethics. For example, Chinese technology ethicists have given undue attention to “Trolley Problems” when considering the implications of autonomous vehicles (AVs). To support this claim and introduce an alternative, this chapter reviews the history of technology ethics in China. It concludes that attempting to “catch up” with the West impedes the ability of Chinese technology ethicists to develop genuinely cultural approaches, as is demonstrated with AVs. Based on my experience interacting with AV companies in China, only by abandoning this methodology and adopting empirical approaches can technology ethics in China become culturally responsive and, therefore, genuinely Chinese. 摘要：新兴技术理应产生新的可能性并引发新的讨论。但在中国，这些可能性和讨论却受到了西方技术伦理学范式的阻碍。一个典型的例证是，中国的技术伦理学家在讨论到自动驾驶汽车（AVs）的影响时，总是倾向于对“电车难题”给予更多的关注。为印证上述判断并引入一种替代性解决方案，本章回顾了中国技术伦理学的历史。研究发现，“追赶”西方的企图阻碍了中国技术伦理学家发展出真正的文化方法的能力，有关自动驾驶伦理的讨论也是如此。根据笔者同自动驾驶公司的互动经验，只有放弃上述立场，转而采用实证方法，中国的技术伦理才能在文化上做出回应，从而成为真正的中国的技术伦理研究。