In Pursuit of Ethical AI: A Bare-Bones Materialist Perspective

In our journey to give AIs like ChatGPT ethical understanding, we are facing multifaceted challenges, as Paul Bloom insightfully examines in his recent New Yorker article. This task involves more than programming a set of rules; it’s about aligning AI’s decision-making with complex human values.

Given that these models have already a set of values, intentionally or otherwise, the real question becomes: what values should these be?

Proponents of a universalist approach to AI ethics argue we share certain core moral principles across different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, including the creator of the AI Claude, Anthropic, now a key contender for the AI crown with backing from Google and Amazon.

They suggest that these universal principles can form the basis of AI’s ethical framework, thus ensuring a level of consistency and predictability in AI behavior, regardless of cultural or economic contexts.

This is where the lens of historical materialism becomes critical. It posits that the prevailing economic systems and social structures ultimately shape our societal values, including what we consider ‘ethical’.

WEIRDos Make the Rules