Kantian Deontology Meets AI Alignment: Towards Morally Grounded Fairness Metrics
This work addresses the need for morally grounded fairness metrics in AI alignment, offering a novel theoretical integration but is incremental as it applies an existing ethical framework to a new domain.
The paper tackles the problem of overlooked deontological ethics in AI fairness metrics by exploring the compatibility of Kantian deontology, arguing that fairness principles should align with this framework to achieve a more morally grounded AI landscape.
Deontological ethics, specifically understood through Immanuel Kant, provides a moral framework that emphasizes the importance of duties and principles, rather than the consequences of action. Understanding that despite the prominence of deontology, it is currently an overlooked approach in fairness metrics, this paper explores the compatibility of a Kantian deontological framework in fairness metrics, part of the AI alignment field. We revisit Kant's critique of utilitarianism, which is the primary approach in AI fairness metrics and argue that fairness principles should align with the Kantian deontological framework. By integrating Kantian ethics into AI alignment, we not only bring in a widely-accepted prominent moral theory but also strive for a more morally grounded AI landscape that better balances outcomes and procedures in pursuit of fairness and justice.