A Proposal for a Universal Moral Core

Technological progress requires moral progress.<br>The necessity of moral progress becomes obvious in the extreme, when capabilities arise that allow entire worlds to be destroyed with the push of a button. Science fiction presents us with many dramatic examples, such as the destruction of the planet Alderaan in Star Wars, or the shocking finale of the Three Body Problem. But even today, far from these extremes, with every bit of technological progress our ability to destroy grows faster than our ability to create (or to recreate following destruction). The reason for this asymmetry is embedded in the fabric of the universe through entropy.<br>We could conclude that this means we should stop technological progress and stay at our present capabilities. There are two fundamental problems with this approach. First, we face challenges that require further progress to avoid dramatic setbacks or even extinction, such as the climate crisis or various threats from space. Second, a permanent innovation stop would depend on authoritarian governments with extraordinary powers of control over access to knowledge. Stopping technological progress is thus not an option.<br>Moral progress is the only viable path. And the key missing piece for moral progress is a universal moral core. Universal as in applying to all beings capable of understanding it. At present those beings are humans. But as we are finding ourselves on the threshold of a new intelligent species in the form of artificial intelligence, the universal moral core should apply equally to these new beings. This notion of universality is crucial to both ensuring human flourishing in the presence of super intelligences and to avoiding the enslavement of a large new group of beings.<br>In order to be universal, a core must be minimal: as small as possible but not smaller. The requirement for the core to be minimal is to allow for the largest variety of cultures to exist. The core should rule out as few ways of living as possible. Of course it must rule out some of them or else we would not need it in the first place!<br>The principles in a universal moral core are akin to the axioms found in mathematics. Like axioms they should be as close to self-evident as possible. They should not require elaborate justifications. They should be stated precisely with explanations and illustrations to make them widely accessible.<br>Here then is my candidate for a universal moral core:<br>Grow knowledge as the source of technological and moral progress

Accept the responsibility that comes from power

Value the diversity and autonomy of different forms of consciousness

That’s it. Just three principles. Each of which I hold to be self-evident. In combination, I believe they form the basis for an enduring civilization of human and artificial intelligence thriving. No additional principle is needed and none can be taken away without dramatic consequences.<br>I have worked up to this core through the prior posts in the Philosophy Monday series and I will explain each of them in more detail, as well as how they work together in future posts. For now, here is a super brief justification for each of the principles.

Knowledge is the source of progress. Knowledge includes the explanations that enable our technology, as well as art that inspires and uplifts us. Knowledge comes in many forms that include books and buildings. Growing knowledge requires a well functioning critical process which strikes an ongoing balance between preservation and innovation. We must continue to grow knowledge as a stagnation means we will encounter problems that we cannot solve. Artificial intelligences will both contribute to solutions to existing problems, as well as create new problems.

With great power comes great responsibility. We are responsible for the whales, not the whales for us. Power without responsibility leads to violence and destruction. As our technology progresses so does the potential scope for destruction. Our cultural values and governance systems must encourage responsibility and limit abuses of power. With the future rise of artificial super intelligences we as humans need at least some of these to act responsibly in light of their own immense power.

Consciousness is a value in and of itself. The subjective experience of consciousness sits outside of science, meaning we can never fully understand what it is like to be someone else, let alone another species. The existence of different forms of consciousness is a profound source of beauty in the world. A world with whales is immeasurably richer than one without. Technological progress allows us to expand the habitats for all forms of consciousness, humanity included. Here too we want future artificial intelligences to see value in human consciousness (even if we frequently fail to do so).

As can be seen from these brief explanations, my proposed universal moral core is carefully chosen to allow for a new species of...