Why AI Systems Follow Rules But Cannot Truly Reason About Ethics

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A philosophical critique argues that current AI models like ChatGPT are trained to appear ethical rather than to genuinely reason morally. The piece traces this limitation to Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), a technique that optimizes responses for human approval rather than truth or wisdom. Drawing on Western moral philosophy, the author contrasts rule-based Kantian ethics and outcome-based utilitarianism with Aristotle's virtue ethics, arguing corporate AI adopted the former by default. Virtue ethics, rooted in developing practical wisdom and character, is presented as the framework AI systems are least equipped to replicate. The author contends that this gap between obedience and genuine moral reasoning underlies most AI ethics failures in recent years.

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