There are rules for difficult life and death-decisions. They put our moral compass to the test. Like a magnifying glass they enlarge our norms and values.

A terror attack, a natural disaster, a crowded emergency room: rescue medics and physicians sometimes have more patients than resources. Then they have to decide who to help first. Sometimes rescuing one person leads to the death for another.

Self-driving cars need moral guard rails, too. In Germany an ethic commission decided: sensors must not discriminate between man or woman, child or elderly. The number of victims might influence the cars decision on the other hand.