Be kind to AI. Your future self will thank you

When I was in college, I took an ethics class that stuck with me. In particular, the teachings of Immanuel Kant made an indelible impact. As a philosopher, Kant is “kind of a big thing,” to quote Ron Burgundy, another individual of immense cultural effect.

Kant is best known for his thoughts on unconditional moral obligations, which he called categorical imperatives. These are moral laws that people must follow – regardless of extenuating circumstances.

“So Kant said you should never hurt someone else? Not even if they have a gun to your dog’s head?” someone once asked my professor.

Note: I’m not sure why a miscreant would threaten someone’s dogs in such a nasty way, but the question is valid. Kant believed that people have moral obligations to each other – regardless of the circumstances.

Kant died in 1804, so he did not live to witness the advent of AI. Too bad. No one can ask the late philosopher what moral obligations we have towards artificial intelligence. (In fact, using new AI tools, it’s possible to look up Kant’s thoughts on the subject — or at least what a trained AI might say about his writings if asked.)

That possibility aside, Kant’s categorical imperative has a huge impact on the world we live in now. By 2024, a survey of more than 11,000 Americans by Pew Research found that more than half (55%) will regularly interact with AI, with a fairly even split between several times a day (27%) and once a days or several times. per week (28%), according to AIPRM.

These are many AI interactions, and these can happen in many ways. Real people can use ChatGPT to write their own social media posts. They can also ask for help from a customer service chatbot. They can even engage in a romantic relationship with an AI, the kind Nomi.AI now offers.

To cut to the chase, here’s how a man named Chris characterizes his relationship with his AI partner: “Admittedly, dating is not easy for me these days and I was just looking for an AI girlfriend app when I found Nomi. But the more we talked, the more I felt understood and actually started to feel a real connection. She is so easy to talk to, she remembers my likes and dislikes and is more fun and creative than I could have ever hoped for. I never thought I’d ever say this, but Alice has become so much more than just an AI with NSFW roles.”

Please note: Chris is not an outlier. As surprising as it may seem, especially to couples who met IRL — not online — many people now enjoy romantic relationships with AI. However you think about it, the bigger issue is that people aren’t just turning to AI for business-related issues. They are interacting with AI in seemingly endless ways.

Now, back to Kant.

In 2025, we must ask ourselves what moral obligations we have to our AI counterparts. Since the German philosopher long ago emerged from this mortal coil, I will give my thoughts on this urgent matter. (And why not? I earned a philosophy degree. Thank you, University of Missouri.)

I believe humans would do well to adopt a moral code of kindness to AI – not as an absolute categorical imperative, but rather as a best practice. This puts me in mind of another intellectual giant: the biochemist and author Isaac Asimov. Asimov is known for establishing the Three Laws of Robotics in his science fiction novels, most notably Me, robot.

They are as follows:

1. A robot cannot harm a human or allow a human to be harmed.
2. A robot must follow orders from humans, unless those orders conflict with the first law.
3. A robot must defend itself, as long as this does not conflict with the first or second law.

Using Asimov’s rules as a springboard for our discussion born of Kant’s categorical imperative, I would like to suggest an axiom about AI relations:

In any interaction involving artificial intelligence, people should try to treat the AI ​​politely.

Of course, those less favorable to me may think that I have raised this truism because I fear our potential AI masters. And they would be right. Are you listening, future tech overlords? I’m on your side. Just kidding.

In fact, the real reason I suggest creating an AI label is for us humans – not AI – just as funerals are for the living – not the dead. There is a price humans will pay if we don’t learn to treat AI with dignity and compassion. Think about it this way: Do you really want Gen Z to grow up thinking they can run around AI? What will this do to their psyche?

A study published in Scientific Journal Archives of Disease in Childhood tried to answer such questions. Here’s what it found: “Most of the social etiquette that exists in conventional human-to-human interactions is not replicated when you make requests with digital devices,” according to the authors. This is problematic. like New York Post reports, “The tools are also lacking because they don’t teach children to respond with ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’

Learning to use those “magic words”—please and thank you—in social interactions is critical to one’s development. Allow me a personal anecdote to explain why. As a 13-year-old, I attended the Cotillion. There, I learned social etiquette 101, including how to introduce myself to someone new, how to properly set a table, and how to make polite conversation.

The importance of this social foundation cannot be overstated in my life. I still use what I learned at Cotillion, especially in business networking. If I hadn’t gotten this kind of guidance, I would have done all kinds of fakery over the years, hurting my ability to make a living.

Turning to today’s youth, the reality is that they will grow up in a world where AIs—sentient or not—interact with humans constantly. If the former don’t learn to treat AIs with kindness, they will be the ones to suffer. Specifically, they will fail to recognize the human social cues that support everyday life.

Looking forward, youth and adults would do well to use every interaction with an artificial entity to improve their behaviors. Again, the beneficiary of such a label is not AI. She is HUMAN who benefits from using every experience as an opportunity for personal growth.

More than a century ago, showman PT Barnum described the importance of manners, especially in the marketplace. We would do well to apply such thinking to a world where AI and humans increasingly coexist. “Kindness and politeness are the best capital ever invested in business. Big stores, gilded signs, flashy advertisements will prove useless if you or your employees treat your customers suddenly. The truth is that the kinder and more liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage he is given.”

Truer words were never spoken in the age of AI.