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It can somehow do everything possible. It is a beloved companion for emotional relief, a reliable teacher and even a substitute for Google. The recent rise of Artificial Intelligence, such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek, seems to have taken over the world, with massive global impacts from the automotive industry to healthcare and education. Regardless, the exponential growth of AI has prompted society to wonder: Is it all ethical? No, the development of Artificial Intelligence is highly immoral, as AI can never make moral decisions like humans.
One of the biggest concerns with AI is that it infringes upon moral decision-making, a key component of humanity. AI shouldn’t have a say in human moral choices since it cannot have moral agency or the capacity to be and act morally. Yet, it still has influence. AI suggestions, or its voice in moral dilemmas, have been shown to increase both confidence and a sense of agency in human moral decisions, regardless of whether the AI’s views are right or wrong. People often look for another person to validate their beliefs, and the presence of AI allows people to develop an artificial sense of confidence in their decisions after confiding in a conversational AI that lacks moral agency.
Furthermore, this results in an altered sense of responsibility, where decision-makers can rid themselves of guilt more easily by shifting moral responsibility to AI instead of themselves. The human aspect of morality would simply be removed if AI assumes control over the conscious aspect of making difficult decisions.
Due to AI’s lack of autonomy, it should never be considered a moral agent capable of making moral decisions in the same way that humans can. Since AI’s actions are driven by external factors like programming, datasets and humans, it cannot act out of internal moral duties, a requirement for moral agency. Thus, a lack of autonomy proves that society shouldn’t treat AI as a moral agent with influence over human moral decision-making.
Additionally, various philosophers agree that only humans can hold the highest level of moral agency amongst all beings due to their unique ability to overcome the sensible realm. For example, a person understands that stealing is wrong, but if one steals to put food on the table, the issue quickly becomes morally ambiguous, with no definitive right or wrong answer. It is currently unclear whether AI can actually make these distinctions, since it must abide by certain rules, and it may not be able to express a true faculty of choice or overcome moral dilemmas in the same way that humans can.
On the other hand, one of the strongest arguments against AI’s immorality is the vast sea of open possibilities. Some argue that, in the future, AI could be used for beneficial purposes, such as boosting economic productivity or improving healthcare systems across the globe. Unfortunately, AI isn’t black and white, since every benefit comes with associated disadvantages, such as job loss, that need to be considered. More importantly, morality can never properly be evaluated just by observing specific outcomes of AI development. Due to an infinite number of impacts on developing AI, it’s impossible to predict them all and determine morality through them. Even for predicted consequences, there is still no definitive starting or ending point to evaluate the infinite chain of consequences.
Over the past couple of years, the exponential growth of AI has only skyrocketed and will continue to do so in the coming years. Despite this, the development of AI undermines human morality, as it is used to absolve oneself of moral responsibility. To establish a world of justice and morality, immediate action is necessary to defend the core of human morality from the icy grip of AI’s cold heart.
