alHarm

alHarm is a conceptual framework used in ethics, policy analysis, and risk assessment to identify, quantify, and compare negative outcomes arising from actions, policies, or systems. It seeks to support decisions that minimize overall harm by providing a structured approach to evaluating potential consequences across multiple domains.

Etymology and scope: The term is used primarily in academic and policy discussions and is often described as a composite of al-, the Arabic definite article, and harm. It is not a universally standardized term, but rather a label attached to a family of multi-domain harm assessment methods developed in the 2010s and 2020s.

Framework and scoring: Core components include domain-specific sub-indices such as physical safety, mental and emotional well-being, autonomy and rights, privacy and information security, social and economic welfare, and environmental and intergenerational effects. A harm index, H, is typically constructed as H = sum w_i h_i, where h_i are domain harms and w_i are context-dependent weights reflecting values and priorities. Stakeholders may participate in weighting and scenario analysis.

Applications: alHarm is used in AI governance, public policy, medical decision-making, and urban planning to compare policy options, assess trade-offs, and communicate risk. It can inform regulatory thresholds, impact assessments, and design choices aimed at harm reduction.

Limitations and critique: The approach relies on normative judgments about what constitutes harm and how to measure it, which can introduce subjectivity and cultural bias. Critics argue that weighting schemes can obscure values or undervalue minority harms. It is often presented alongside other evaluative tools rather than as a replacement.