Considerationbeing

Considerationbeing is a term used in moral philosophy and AI ethics to denote a hypothetical standard or agent that internalizes the welfare and moral considerability of all beings capable of experiencing well-being. The word blends "consideration" and "being" and is typically discussed as a way to frame how deliberation should account for others' interests.

Practically, considerationbeing can refer to either a property of an agent’s decision-making—the capacity to weigh others’ interests alongside one’s own—or to a normative ideal: decision processes that ensure the welfare of all affected beings is part of the calculation.

In theoretical debates, the concept intersects with questions of moral status, sentience, and welfare. It appears in discussions across ethical frameworks such as utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and rights-based theories, and in AI ethics as a criterion for value alignment that requires systems to factor the well-being of affected parties into outcomes.

Challenges include definitional ambiguity, disagreement about whose welfare matters and how to measure it, and tensions with efficiency or autonomy. Critics caution that it can become too vague, overbroad, or instrumentalized unless accompanied by clear metrics and safeguards.

Related ideas include moral patienthood, moral considerability, welfare ethics, and ethical deliberation. See also literature on value alignment, care ethics, and the ethics of artificial agents.