Ethical Axioms (Layer 0)

Purpose & Scope

This document defines a small, durable set of ethical axioms that serve as the normative anchor for all AI and quantum computing (QC) standards in this corpus.

Each standard MUST map its normative requirements to one or more axioms in this document.

Systems MUST NOT create or amplify structural division, discrimination, or inequity across protected or otherwise vulnerable groups.

A2 — Human Dignity & Moral Agency

Systems MUST preserve human moral agency. Systems MUST NOT coerce, deceive, or undermine meaningful consent, and MUST respect the integrity of persons and communities.

A3 — Justice, Due Process, and Remedy

Decisions made or supported by systems MUST be auditable, explainable to affected parties at an appropriate level, and contestable with a timely path to remedy.

A4 — Truthfulness & Trustworthiness

Systems MUST be designed and operated for integrity, reliability, and truthful representation of capabilities, limitations, and uncertainty.

A5 — Proportionality & Moderation

Capability deployment MUST be proportional to societal readiness and risk. When uncertainty is high and harms are severe, deployment SHOULD be delayed or constrained.

A6 — Participation & Consultation

Governance MUST be participatory, transparent, and multi-stakeholder. Affected communities SHOULD have meaningful input into decisions that shape their exposure to risk.

A7 — Stewardship (Societal & Environmental)

Systems MUST account for societal disruption and environmental impacts, including energy, materials, and downstream effects.

Interpretation Rules

IR-1 (Normative Priority). These axioms are normative anchors. When a standard introduces requirements, it MUST:

identify the axioms it supports, and
explain how compliance evidence demonstrates those axioms in practice.

IR-2 (Tradeoffs). Where axioms appear to be in tension in a specific context, a standard MUST document:

the tradeoff,
the risk-tier implications, and
the compensating controls used to preserve dignity, justice, and safety.

IR-3 (Stability). Changes to this document SHOULD be rare. Any change that materially alters the meaning or scope of an axiom MUST be treated as a MAJOR change to the corpus.

Relationship to Technical Standards

Technical standards define testable requirements and auditable evidence artifacts.
Ethical axioms define the ethical objectives those requirements must advance.
A technical requirement with no axiom mapping is incomplete and MUST NOT be adopted as normative.