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#consequentialism

September 2026 2 notes

reflections updated 2 min read

Consequences have boundaries

AI summary

Doug has discovered a connection between his previous thoughts on consequentialism and Critical System Heuristics (CSH), a framework that involves asking 12 boundary judgement questions to inform a system of interest. These questions can be applied twice, firstly to assess the current system and secondly to envision an ideal system, allowing for comparison and iteration towards a more ethical and representative system. Doug's previous work on CSH includes a set of tables that have become distorted during archiving, but the core principles remain applicable.

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ideas updated 7 min read

Everyone's a consequentialist until they get punched in the face

AI summary

Doug suggests that people tend to be consequentialists when considering others, but intentionalists when it affects themselves, highlighting a disparity in moral judgement. He proposes a 2x2 grid to help consider AI ethics more holistically, examining duty and responsibility, legitimacy and governance, direct harm and benefit, and systemic consequences. By using this grid, Doug argues that individuals can make more informed decisions about AI by considering multiple moral questions and perspectives.

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