The Moral Status of AI and the Precautionary Principle
Diametros June 25, 2026 Emilia Kaczmarek
In ethical debates about moral status, it is often assumed that erring on the side of over-inclusion is safer when uncertain whether entities like AI have morally relevant capacities such as consciousness or pain. This article argues that over-attributing moral status to AI carries more immediate and materializing risks, illustrated by AI psychosis and the diversion of resources from beings with clear moral standing toward parasocial AI relationships. While risks of under-attribution exist, they can be mitigated by other ethical reasons—concern for one’s moral character, respect for social norms, or aversion to symbolic violence—that do not require granting moral status to AI itself.