Classification of Moral Decision Making in Autonomous Driving: Efficacy of Boosting Procedures

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) face critical decisions in pedestrian interactions, necessitating ethical considerations such as minimizing harm and prioritizing human life. This study investigates machine learning models to predict human decision making in simulated driving scenarios under varying pedestrian configurations and time constraints. Data were collected from 204 participants across 12 unique simulated driving scenarios, categorized into young (24.7 ± 3.5 years, 38 males, 64 females) and older (71.0 ± 5.7 years, 59 males, 43 females) age groups. Participants’ binary decisions to maintain or change lanes were recorded. Traditional logistic regression models exhibited high precision but consistently low recall, struggling to identify true positive instances requiring intervention. In contrast, the AdaBoost algorithm demonstrated superior accuracy and discriminatory power. Confusion matrix analysis revealed AdaBoost’s ability to achieve high true positive rates (up to 96%) while effectively managing false positives and negatives, even under 1 s time constraints. Learning curve analysis confirmed robust learning without overfitting. AdaBoost consistently outperformed logistic regression, with AUC-ROC values ranging from 0.82 to 0.96. It exhibited strong generalization, with validation accuracy approaching 0.8, underscoring its potential for reliable real-world AV deployment. By consistently identifying critical instances while minimizing errors, AdaBoost can prioritize human safety and align with ethical frameworks essential for responsible AV adoption.