Introduction by the Author
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With the maturity of the electronic age, we are entering the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which demands rules ensuring safety for humanity rather than mere utility. The ideals to be pursued require the same concreteness to which the modern world has become accustomed.
Modern philosophy and contemporary culture have catalogued a myriad of ethics, arisen to meet needs linked to diverse objectives and based on even more disparate and divergent opinions. Furthermore, in this sea of options, pluralistic visions are sought, often through forms of utilitarianism that make the whole indistinct; from this, one perceives the resurgence of an indifferent connection of everything with nothingness, within an absurd backdrop of a liquid existentialism that ranges from the most shifting relativism to the ataraxia of the most immobile nihilism.
From such an environment, it is difficult, if not impossible, to extract firm principles. Therefore, a radical search is urgent to promote humanity in the Truth of being, even before identifying an intrinsically valid, resilient, and perhaps shareable ethics for the coding of solid rules for AI.
From that idea, this essay proposes and develops a quest for the roots in ancient wisdom, which has always guarded the Ten Words that are close to the fragility of human being. They represent a relationship between the metaphysical and the earthly world, through which humanity receives ideals close to hearts; providing a source for precious analogies, that inspire the outlining of a framework and its transposition into technical requirements. The formulation of a guide for Artificial Intelligence (AI) will thereby grant AI a purpose that all people can endorse as intrinsically ethical.
While aspiring to universally shared concepts, this work draws upon the ancient Judeo-Christian Tradition. The Decalogue (The Ten Words) contains fundamental principles for many religions; it likely originated in the 12th century BC, with the first textual drafts dating back at least to the 5th century BC.
From the perspective of complex systems theory, the Decalogue is configured as an architecture of logical instructions able to preserve the integrity of persons and systems. In this view, the analogy between moral law and computer requirement is not merely suggestive but structural: just as in complex industrial systems certain input/output protocols are programmed to prevent logical collapse (deadlock), the alignment protocol proposed here ensures that the actions of AI remain consistent with the truth of the person.
Although some may perceive the reference to the Decalogue as a sign of rigidity or exclusivity, this tradition offers both a metaphysical vision and a concrete moral message for humanity. At the same time, each personal reason can be elevated above contingencies to recognize the freedom to participate in a better world. This exchange is deepened to bring the heart of ethical issues into the computing world, in order to design artificial systems that assist in the precious duty of acting for the good.