Why Artificial Intelligence Cannot Possess Ethics

Why Artificial Intelligence Cannot Possess Ethics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Why Artificial Intelligence Cannot Possess Ethics Junchi Chu, Jiannong Cao, Chiwei Chen, Weixun Gao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8838508/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Artificial Intelligence is based on neural networks, which are fundamentally a combination of nonlinear functions. Undoubtedly, it has evolved into a core technology that profoundly impacts various aspects of our lives. For global technological development, ethical governance holds greater significance than the technology itself. However, at its core, AI remains a set of tools designed and programmed by humans to execute specific tasks. Lacking consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity to form subjective moral judgments, AI cannot inherently distinguish right from wrong. It is also debatable whether AI can reliably embody human ethical values—norms shaped by the collective experiences and standards of humanity over time. In this work, we outline the philosophical foundations of ethical theory from Aristotle to Kant and examine their implications for contemporary AI development. This paper argues that AI lacks intrinsic ethical agency, which may give rise to potential harms and risks. We pose five ethical questions to large language models (LLMs) and systematically evaluate the performance of several widely used LLMs. Furthermore, we analyze the underlying reasons why artificial intelligence cannot genuinely possess ethics. Humanities/Philosophy Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Social science/Science technology and society Artificial Intelligence Ethics Ethical Framework Normative Ethics Decision Making Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files NatureHSSCSupplementary.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 04 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 02 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 22 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8838508","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":614706871,"identity":"c7dd583e-c58f-45d2-909a-e97329eed926","order_by":0,"name":"Junchi Chu","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Hong Kong Polytechnic University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junchi","middleName":"","lastName":"Chu","suffix":""},{"id":614706872,"identity":"b9176f12-3933-4d8c-9795-112a4ac2a1f2","order_by":1,"name":"Jiannong Cao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hong Kong Polytechnic University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiannong","middleName":"","lastName":"Cao","suffix":""},{"id":614706873,"identity":"7be62526-b8aa-4bf7-bf7f-b3304c75dbfd","order_by":2,"name":"Chiwei Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hong Kong Polytechnic University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chiwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":614706874,"identity":"b84ef8a1-f3fb-4a4a-b7d8-edf5b6b61a33","order_by":3,"name":"Weixun Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hong Kong Polytechnic University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Weixun","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-10 08:39:51","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8838508/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8838508/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106093334,"identity":"36fe6ea3-6393-4f63-9ed0-1d2587510b1e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-03 11:36:52","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1183730,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ArticleTitle1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8838508/v1_covered_b238d71c-aec8-485e-a4fb-6f69d45f2180.pdf"},{"id":105952411,"identity":"48f4770b-3c2b-449f-b567-f7c3f58125a2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 18:55:06","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":508787,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"NatureHSSCSupplementary.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8838508/v1/94d97e47f8f467ddbdb00503.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Why Artificial Intelligence Cannot Possess Ethics","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Artificial Intelligence Ethics, Ethical Framework, Normative Ethics, Decision Making","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8838508/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8838508/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Artificial Intelligence is based on neural networks, which are fundamentally a combination of nonlinear functions. 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