Ethics Goes Awry in Humans and AI

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- Anja Steinbauer

Human Ethics: Not Working as Expected

It is satisfying to find a scientific study not only quote but also confirm philosophical insights. Research published by Crystal Reeck of Temple University and Dan Ariely of Duke University is spearheaded by this quote by Aristotle: “The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.” And this is exactly what they found. As opposed to Aristotle’s virtue ethics, which understands any single moral choice as embedded in a larger context, it is common for us in our everyday lives to conceive of any moral act as an isolated singular occurrence. At the same time, however, we are rewarded for little dishonesties, the ones that, in themselves, seem to matter little. They often don’t incur important consequences, but make our lives a little easier. Using a set of six experiments, the researchers demonstrated that “Individual dishonest acts are thus not independent events, but rather can compound and perpetuate pervasive unethical behaviour.” This moral detachment is expedited by factors such as unfair financial deprivation, self-serving rewards, and gradual change, while drawing attention to the importance to how of selfish acts matter can hinder it or slow it down. The authors conclude: “our findings suggest that dishonest acts can be super-additive over time and lead to an increase of unethical behaviour to the point where it becomes pervasive and routine.”

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