# Ethics and Value Pluralism

Which values should AI encode, and who decides? This sub-article expands [Section 4.4 of Philosophy](../philosophy.md).

## Competing Frameworks
- **Utilitarian** vs. **rights-based** ethics.
- Cultural variation in moral norms.
- Trade-offs between privacy, freedom, safety, and fairness.

## Who Decides?
- Democratic input, stakeholder deliberation, and international coordination.
- Risk of a few companies or states imposing values globally.

## Pluralism vs. Convergence
- Should AI be value-neutral, or embed particular values?
- Some argue for transparency and user control over AI's value choices.

## Practical Implications
- Data annotation and RLHF encode human preferences; those preferences are not universal.
- Governance must make value choices explicit and contestable.

## Why It Matters
Alignment without agreement on values risks imposing one worldview on everyone.

## Sources
- Gabriel, I. (2020). *Artificial Intelligence, Values, and Alignment.*
- UNESCO. *Recommendation on the Ethics of AI* (2021).

*Back to [Philosophy](../philosophy.md).*