From Value Realism to Inclusive Ethics: A New Path for Human Rights and AI Development

This paper critically examines Carlos Montemayor’s human rights-based approach to AI ethics, as presented in his 2023 book The Prospect of a Humanitarian Artificial Intelligence. Montemayor proposes that the concept of human rights, grounded in the cognitive needs of human beings, should guide AI development. This paper challenges Montemayor’s moral value-realism (the belief in objective moral values) by arguing for a more inclusive ethical framework that reconciles moral value-realism with skepticism. By proposing an agnostic stance towards moral truths, it suggests a new framework for AI ethics based on subjective intrinsic valuations and shared moral commitments, rather than on objective moral truths. In this proposed framework, without either denying or asserting the existence of absolute values and moral truths, human rights in AI ethics are grounded in collective moral commitments to value human beings intrinsically, rather than in inherent moral truths. This facilitates a more pragmatic and inclusive solution that allows for a diversity of ethical and metaethical perspectives while aligning with the complex nature of AI’s societal integration. The paper concludes that while Montemayor’s work is foundational, it invites further adaptation to develop AI systems that are ethically sound and in harmony with a broad spectrum of human values.