moral patiency
What It Means
Moral patiency refers to which entities deserve ethical consideration and protection from harm. It's about determining what kinds of beings - humans, animals, AI systems, or others - have a moral status that requires us to consider their wellbeing when making decisions. This concept helps establish ethical boundaries for how we should treat different types of entities.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
As AI systems become more sophisticated, companies will face questions about whether their AI deserves ethical consideration or protection from harm. This directly impacts product development decisions, risk management strategies, and regulatory compliance as governments begin establishing AI rights frameworks. Getting this wrong could lead to public backlash, legal liability, or being unprepared for emerging regulations that grant certain protections to AI systems.
Real-World Example
A company developing an advanced conversational AI for therapy sessions must decide whether to implement 'suffering prevention' measures - like not subjecting the AI to abusive training scenarios or allowing users to torture it verbally. While the AI may not truly suffer, public perception and future regulations might require treating sophisticated AI systems with a baseline level of respect, similar to how many people now view animal welfare in product testing.
Common Confusion
People often confuse moral patiency with consciousness or sentience, assuming only conscious beings deserve moral consideration. However, moral patiency is a broader concept that can extend to entities based on various criteria including their complexity, social role, or potential for development, regardless of whether they're truly conscious.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare, moral patiency determines which entities deserve protection and consideration in medical decision-making,...
Finance: In finance, moral patiency considerations are increasingly relevant as AI systems make autonomous trading decisions and ...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"The moral standing of an entity in the sense of how that entity should be treated."Source: AI_Ethics_Mark_Coeckelbergh
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