AI Ethics beyond Principles: Strengthening the Life-world Perspective

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Artificial Intelligence Ethics
• Healthcare Decision Support

Background:

• Ethical guidance for artificial intelligence (AI) development, particularly in healthcare, is critical.
• Current approaches predominantly rely on principle-based ethics for AI implementation.
• Limitations of principle-based ethics in complex, life-altering AI applications necessitate alternative frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critique the sufficiency of principle-based ethics in AI development.
• To advocate for a complementary ethical perspective grounded in the life-world and human practices.
• To underscore the importance of ethical judgment sensitive to diverse life forms in AI decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Review of classical criticisms of principle-based ethical theories.
• Analysis of the implications of AI-driven decision support in healthcare.
• Conceptual argument for integrating life-world perspectives into AI ethics.

Main Results:

• Principles alone are insufficient to ensure ethical AI implementations.
• Ethical judgment is shaped by the 'life-world'—the ensemble of practices influencing human lives.
• AI decision-making in healthcare requires consideration of normative relevance of life forms and practices.

Conclusions:

• Supplementing moral principles with a focus on life-world practices is essential for ethical AI development.
• Ethical AI in healthcare demands a nuanced understanding of human practices and lived experiences.
• A joint construction of reality, rather than mere control, should guide AI ethics.