Towards Computational Foreseeability

This paper addresses the challenges of computational accountability in autonomous systems, particularly in Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), where safety and efficiency often conflict. We begin by examining current approaches such as cost minimization, reward maximization, human-centered approaches, and ethical frameworks, noting their limitations addressing these challenges. Foreseeability is a central concept in tort law that limits the accountability and legal liability of an actor to a reasonable scope. Yet, current data-driven methods to determine foreseeability are rigid, ignore uncertainty, and depend on simulation data. In this work, we advocate for a new computational approach to establish foreseeability of autonomous systems based on the legal “BPL” formula. We provide open research challenges, using fully autonomous vehicles as a motivating example, and call for researchers to help autonomous systems make accountable decisions in safety-critical scenarios.