Year 12 Philosophy and Ethics AI Revision

Ethics

Systematic reflection on moral decisions and what makes actions right or wrong.

Morality

Personal or cultural rules, values, and customs regarding right and wrong behaviour.

Deontological Ethics

Rule-based ethical systems focusing on duty, obligations, and inherent rights.

Teleological Ethics

Consequentialist ethical systems focusing on outcomes, purposes, and ends.

Virtue Ethics

Character-based ethical systems focusing on habits, dispositions, and moral virtues.

Free Will

The capacity of agents to choose their own actions free from external compulsion.

Determinism

The philosophical proposition that all events, including human actions, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will.

Eudaimonia

Aristotle's term for human flourishing, happiness, or living well.

Utilitarianism

A teleological theory stating actions are right if they produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Principle of Double Effect

Aquinas's principle stating an action with bad and good effects is permissible if the bad is not intended as a means.

Good Life (Definition)

An overarching state of human flourishing, meaning, virtue, and well-being.

Ancient Greek Good Life

Achieved through virtue, reason, political participation, and eudaimonia.

Jewish Good Life

Found through covenant, hesed, Halachah, and repairing the world (tikkun olam).

Catholic Good Life

Rooted in relationship with God, following Jesus's teachings, and living out Natural Law.

Pluralist/Secular Good Life

Focuses on subjective wellbeing, autonomy, shared human rights, and social contribution.

Happiness vs Meaning

Happiness is an emotional state; meaning involves purpose, responsibility, and deep contribution.

Role of Freedom

Autonomy allows individuals to make genuine moral choices necessary for a truly good life.

Justice and Dignity

Fundamental pillars ensuring fair treatment and inherent worth of every human person.

AI and the Good Life (Risk)

AI can undermine the good life by eroding human autonomy, privacy, and meaningful work.

AI and the Good Life (Benefit)

AI can support the good life by reducing tedious labour and advancing healthcare.

Ethical Issue vs Technical Issue

An ethical issue involves moral rights, wrongs, and human well-being; a technical issue involves pure efficiency or mechanics.

Ethical Issue vs Personal Preference

Personal preference is subjective taste; ethical issues carry moral weight affecting others.

Responsibility in AI

The complex attribution of moral blame among developers, users, corporations, and autonomous algorithms.

Generative AI and Schoolwork

Using gen AI is ethically questionable if it circumvents learning, misrepresents work, and violates academic integrity.

Efficiency vs Autonomy

Prioritising efficiency through AI can compromise human autonomy and critical decision-making.

Psychological Egoism

The descriptive claim that humans always act out of perceived self-interest.

Ethical Egoism

The normative claim that humans ought to act in their own self-interest.

Situation Ethics

Joseph Fletcher's teleological system based entirely on agape (unconditional love) in the immediate context.

Agape

Selfless, unconditional love emphasised in Christian ethics and situation ethics.

Strengths of Situation Ethics

Highly flexible and compassionate in complex, unique moral dilemmas.

Unexamined Life

Socrates's claim that a life lacking critical self-reflection is not worth living.

Socratic Method

Dialectical questioning designed to stimulate critical thinking and expose hidden contradictions.

Care for the Soul

Socrates's primary ethical focus on nurturing moral and intellectual integrity over material wealth.

Knowledge and Virtue

Socrates's view that wrongdoing stems from ignorance; knowing the good leads to doing the good.

Socrates on AI

Would question whether AI fosters genuine wisdom or creates an unexamined, dependent society.

Moral vs Intellectual Virtues

Moral virtues (e.g., courage) are developed by habit; intellectual virtues (e.g., wisdom) are developed by education.

Doctrine of the Mean

Aristotle's idea that virtue lies in a balanced middle between excess and deficiency.

Practical Wisdom (Phronesis)

Intellectual virtue enabling individuals to apply moral virtue correctly in specific situations.

Pleasure vs Flourishing

Pleasure is a temporary sensation; eudaimonia is a stable, lifelong state of actualising human potential.

Aristotle on AI

Would evaluate AI based on whether it encourages intellectual growth and virtuous character or fosters intellectual laziness.

Covenant

The binding, reciprocal relationship between God and the Jewish people involving mutual moral obligations.

Hesed

Loving-kindness, mercy, and steadfast loyalty central to Jewish interpersonal ethics.

Halachah

Jewish law derived from the Torah, Talmud, and rabbinic tradition governing daily conduct.

Tikkun Olam

The moral imperative to repair, heal, and improve the world through righteous action.

Orthodox Judaism

Strictly adheres to traditional Halachah and divine revelation as binding law.

Conservative Judaism

Maintains traditional practices while adapting Halachah to fit modern historical and social contexts.

Reform Judaism

Emphasises ethical principles over strict ritual law, prioritizing personal autonomy and social justice.

Jewish Ethics on AI (Justice)

Algorithms must be scrutinized for bias to ensure fairness for vulnerable populations.

Jewish Ethics on AI (Responsibility)

Humans retain moral accountability for the tools they build and deploy.

Jewish Ethics on AI (Tikkun Olam)

AI should be utilized to heal societal ills, cure diseases, and foster community wellbeing.

Sources of Catholic Ethics

Scripture, Tradition, Natural Law, and an informed conscience.

Natural Law (Aquinas)

The belief that moral principles are inherent in human nature and discoverable by reason.

Primary Precepts

Aquinas's foundational natural law rules (e.g., preserve life, educate, live in society).

Secondary Precepts

Specific rules derived from primary precepts through human reasoning (e.g., do not murder).

Informed Conscience

A moral judgment of reason that must be formed, followed, and continuously educated.

Human Dignity (Catholic View)

Every person is made in the image and likeness of God, possessing intrinsic worth.

Beatitudes

Jesus's teachings in the Sermon on the Mount emphasizing humility, mercy, and peacemaking.

Principle of Double Effect Application

Healthcare AI diagnosing disease while causing minor patient distress must weigh proportionality.

Limitation of Double Effect

Can be misapplied to justify harmful outcomes if intention is cleverly manipulated.

Catholic Ethics on AI

Must protect human dignity, assist vulnerable people, and reject utilitarian exploitation.

Principle of Utility

The greatest happiness principle: actions are right if they promote happiness, wrong if they produce pain.

Act Utilitarianism (Bentham)

Evaluates each individual action based on the immediate utility it generates.

Rule Utilitarianism (Mill)

Follows general rules that tend to produce the greatest good for the majority over time.

Higher vs Lower Pleasures (Mill)

Intellectual and moral pleasures are qualitatively superior to base physical pleasures.

Kantian Categorical Imperative

An unconditional moral obligation that is binding in all circumstances regardless of inclination.

Formula of Universal Law

Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.

Formula of Humanity

Treat humanity, whether in yourself or others, never merely as a means to an end, but always as an end.

Strengths of Deontology

Protects individual human rights and provides clear, universal moral duties.

Criticisms of Deontology

Rigid rules can lead to severe conflicts of duty with no clear resolution.

Utilitarianism Critique

Can justify sacrificing minority rights or individuals for the greater collective good.

Facial Recognition & Privacy

Mass surveillance via facial recognition violates privacy and undermines autonomy.

Algorithmic Bias

AI trained on historical data perpetuates and amplifies existing societal discrimination.

Automated Hiring

Streamlines recruitment but risks reinforcing bias and treating candidates as data points.

Predictive Policing

Uses crime data to forecast offences, often targeting marginalized communities unfairly.

Deepfakes & Misinformation

Generative AI creates convincing falsehoods, destroying public trust and epistemic integrity.

AI in Healthcare

Enhances diagnostic speed but raises issues of algorithmic transparency and liability.

Autonomous Vehicles (Trolley Problem)

Forces pre-programmed ethical decisions during unavoidable accidents.

Environmental Cost of AI

Massive energy and water consumption of data centers creates severe climate externalities.

Developer Responsibility

Developers must embed ethical guardrails, transparency, and fairness into AI design.

User Autonomy & Manipulation

Recommendation algorithms manipulate user behaviour, reducing free will and critical thinking.

MCQ: Which ethical system focuses on duty and rules?

B. Deontology. Explanation: Deontology emphasizes moral duties and rules, unlike utilitarianism (consequences) or virtue ethics (character).

MCQ: What is Aristotle's term for human flourishing?

A. Eudaimonia. Explanation: Eudaimonia means living well or flourishing, distinct from transient pleasure or success.

MCQ: What is Mill's distinction in utilitarianism?

C. Higher and lower pleasures. Explanation: Mill argued intellectual pleasures are qualitatively superior to physical ones.

MCQ: What does Kant's Formula of Humanity state?

A. Treat humanity never merely as a means. Explanation: It forbids using people as instruments without respect for their autonomy.

MCQ: What is Tikkun Olam in Jewish ethics?

D. Repairing the world. Explanation: It is the imperative to improve society through righteous deeds.

MCQ: What defines Situation Ethics?

B. Agape. Explanation: Fletcher argued love is the only absolute rule in every unique situation.

MCQ: Which Catholic source emphasizes reason and human nature?

C. Natural Law. Explanation: Natural Law holds that moral rules are built into human nature and discoverable by reason.

MCQ: What is a key criticism of Act Utilitarianism?

A. It can sacrifice individual rights. Explanation: Maximizing collective utility can sometimes justify harming minorities.

MCQ: What is algorithmic bias?

D. AI systems reflecting human prejudices. Explanation: Flawed or biased training data leads to discriminatory AI outputs.

MCQ: What does Aquinas's Principle of Double Effect require?

B. The bad effect must not be the means to the good effect. Explanation: You cannot do evil so that good may come.

Short-Answer: Define utilitarianism and distinguish act from rule utilitarianism.

Act utilitarianism evaluates specific acts by immediate outcomes; rule utilitarianism follows general rules that maximise overall utility.

Short-Answer: Explain Kant's Categorical Imperative (Universalisation).

An action is morally right only if its maxim can be consistently willed as a universal law for all rational beings.

Short-Answer: How does virtue ethics evaluate AI?

By examining whether AI tools foster good character, wisdom, and human flourishing or lead to intellectual laziness and vice.

Short-Answer: Explain the ethical tension in predictive policing.

It increases efficiency for law enforcement but risks algorithmic bias, reinforcing systemic discrimination against vulnerable communities.

Essay Plan: Thesis on AI and the Good Life

AI can enhance the good life by advancing healthcare and efficiency, but only if regulated to protect human autonomy and dignity.

Essay Plan: Utilitarian vs Kantian view on Facial Recognition

Utilitarians might support it if overall security outweighs privacy loss; Kantians would condemn it for treating individuals merely as data means.

Essay Plan: Structure of an Ethical Essay

Introduction (thesis/definitions), Body 1 (Theory A application), Body 2 (Theory B application), Body 3 (Counterargument/Comparison), Conclusion (balanced judgment).

Essay Plan: Addressing Stimulus Material

Always directly refer to quotes or data in the stimulus to anchor arguments and demonstrate critical thinking.

Essay Plan: Counterargument for AI regulation

Pro: Protects rights and safety. Con: Stifles innovation and technological progress.

Essay Plan: Model Conclusion for AI Ethics

While AI offers unprecedented benefits, true ethical implementation requires prioritizing human dignity, transparency, and accountability over mere efficiency.