TITLE: Responsible Transportation
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Background: IATBR NEWS presented the 4th issue in May 2024 (please read the issue here if you have not[1]). Keeping the original mission of this newsletter, it will bring discussions around another visionary but plausible theme to the attention of travel modellers around the world. The fifth issue is planned to be released in November 2024 and focuses on an emerging area that is quickly reshaping and redefining itself.
[1] https://iatbr.weebly.com/May-2024.html |
Topic: Sustainable transport systems, planning, and development have long been discussed in the literature by travel behaviour modellers, where emission, accessibility, equity and energy consumption are identified among the core pillars. With the emergence of artificial intelligence (see issue 3[1]) concerns about responsible AI, ethics, and morality are redefining the boundaries of a sustainable transport system integrated into a smart and digitised urban design. Robots, autonomous vehicles and dynamic micro-taxing/tolling sensing mechanisms enforce stronger roles for non-human decision-makers who are not responsible for their decisions, with businesses providing them governing and bearing the responsibility of decisions made, which might result in a fatal accident.
This issue invites articles to elaborate on how a transport system can be ethically defined and designed. Methods quantifying the responsibility of agents involved in a transport system enabled by artificial intelligence making decisions on behalf of people are invited to be introduced and elaborated on in this issue. Authors are encouraged to offer insights to open the horizon of travel behaviour researchers to disciplines with an established history of delving into complications associated with an automated society. Discussing schools of thought, theories and frameworks that can be related to travel behaviour allows the transport modelling community to leapfrog to applying methods developed by social scientists and philosophers rather than inventing the discoveries of others. Introducing and discussing a seminal paper in the field of ethics and responsible AI that can relate to transport problems offers a nice article for the audience on this issue. Insightful articles related to the broader scope of responsible AI are welcomed. [1] https://iatbr.weebly.com/september-2023.html |
History: In addition, following the first three episodes of interviews with reputable scholars in the area of travel behaviour (Sergio Jara-Diaz and Juan de Dios Ortúzar in issue 2, David Hensher in Issue 3 and Hani Mahmassani in issue 4), we will have another interview with a known travel behaviour scholar in the fifth issue.
A new section was introduced to the newsletter in issue 4, where young academics offer insights about their research. In issue 4, the most recent Eric Pas Awardees discussed their research. Previous Eric Pas awardees and recent PhD graduates are encouraged to offer a blurb of their research directions and findings. This issue invites authors to submit their short articles (maximum 600 words[1]) where one picture/diagram must be included as a schematic abstract. The articles are expected to have only one author (the article will be published with a photo of the author; see previous issues as examples). Key Dates: The deadline for submission of the articles is the 15th of August, 2024. The articles are expected to be published in the fifth newsletter of IATBR in November 2024.[2] The sixth issue is scheduled for early 2025. Contact: Submissions and queries should be emailed to Taha Rashidi ([email protected]). [1] Cited papers are included as footnotes not included in the word count [2] P.S. The total number of words in the article above is 514 words. |