noharm

Noharm, sometimes written as No Harm or noharm, is a term used to describe the ethical aim that actions should avoid causing injury, suffering, or damage to others. The phrase is commonly linked with the medical maxim primum non nocere, Latin for “first, do no harm,” a principle that has informed Western medical ethics since antiquity.

In medicine, nonmaleficence is a core obligation of clinicians. It guides patient safety, risk assessment, informed consent, and the balancing of potential harms against potential benefits. The principle is not absolute; it often requires weighing competing duties, such as beneficence, autonomy, and justice.

Beyond clinical care, the noharm idea appears in research ethics, public health, and law. In research, investigators minimize physical, social, and psychological harms to participants. In policy-making, harm minimization seeks to reduce adverse outcomes even when complete avoidance is impossible.

In technology and artificial intelligence, noharm considerations focus on safety, reliability, and the prevention of unintended consequences. This includes design choices, risk assessment, transparent auditing, and accountability frameworks to ensure systems do not inflict avoidable harm on users or society.

Critics note that defining harm can be subjective and context-dependent, and that maximizing overall good may require tolerating some risks. Proponents respond that clear guidelines, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing monitoring can align action with the noharm goal.

There are organizations and campaigns that use the name No Harm or NoHarm to promote safety, ethics, and harm-reduction initiatives, but the term remains a general ethical concept rather than a single, unified entity.