A framework for designing compassionate and ethical artificial intelligence and artificial consciousness

The authors propose design principles and a computational framework for building artificial intelligence that is conscious, empathetic, and compassionate. They argue that consciousness, intelligence, and empathy can be engineered into machines, and that doing so could shift public discussion away from fear of AI toward embedding cherished human values in technology. The work presents a theoretical and engineering-oriented perspective, aiming both to advance understanding of consciousness and to guide the development of machines that embody these qualities.

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Abstract

Intelligence and consciousness have fascinated humanity for a long time and we have long sought to replicate this in machines. In this work we show some design principles for a compassionate and conscious artificial intelligence. We present a computational framework for engineering intelligence, empathy and consciousness in machines. We hope that this framework will allow us to better understand consciousness and design machines that are conscious and empathetic. Our hope is that this will also shift the discussion from a fear of artificial intelligence towards designing machines that embed our cherished values in them. Consciousness, intelligence and empathy would be worthy design goals that can be engineered in machines.