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Cited by 15Ethics and Social Impacts of AIPhilosophy and Theoretical ScienceLiterary and Philosophical Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record.

Principles for Responsible AI Consciousness Research

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Butlin, Patrick, Lappas, Theodorus·2025·Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research
DOI 10.1613/jair.1.17310
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Abstract

Recent research suggests that it may be possible to build conscious AI systems now or in the near future. Conscious AI systems would arguably deserve moral consideration, and it may be the case that large numbers of conscious systems could be created and caused to suffer. Furthermore, AI systems or AI-generated characters may increasingly give the impression of being conscious, leading to debate about their moral status. Organisations involved in AI research must establish principles and policies to guide research and deployment choices and public communication concerning consciousness. Even if an organisation chooses not to study AI consciousness as such, it will still need policies in place, as those developing advanced AI systems risk inadvertently creating conscious entities. Responsible research and deployment practices are essential to address this possibility. We propose five principles for responsible research and argue that research organisations should make voluntary, public commitments to principles on these lines. Our principles concern research objectives and procedures, knowledge sharing and public communications. This article appears in the AI & Society track.

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Metadata

Authors
Butlin, P., & Lappas, T.
Affiliations
University of Oxford (GB)
ORCID
Butlin, Patrick
Venue
Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research
Publisher
AI Access Foundation
Published
2025-03-25
Volume
82
Pages
1673-1690
ISSN
1076-9757 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1613/jair.1.17310
OpenAlex
W4408817563
Cited by
15
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 7
FWCI
15.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (cc-by)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
  • Social Sciences › Law › Literary and Philosophical Studies
Keywords
artificial consciousness, moral status of AI, research ethics, AI deployment, public communication, knowledge sharing, research principles

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