Question 12
Domain 1: Ethical Foundations and Decision FrameworksAn AI product team is deciding whether to deploy a feature that could increase efficiency for most users but would require breaking a standing commitment the company made about how it handles user data. Which reasoning approach is more appropriate if the team wants to decide based primarily on whether the action honors the commitment itself rather than on the overall benefits produced?
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Duty-based reasoning is more appropriate when the ethical question turns on whether an action fulfills an obligation or principle, rather than on comparing the results that different actions might produce. — Source material: Determine when duty-based reasoning is more appropriate than outcome-based reasoning; Key Terms: duty-based reasoning, outcome-based reasoning.
Why each option is right or wrong
A. Outcome-based reasoning, because the feature improves efficiency for the largest number of users
Outcome-based reasoning focuses on overall results, not on whether a commitment is honored as a duty.
B. Duty-based reasoning, because the decision centers on keeping a commitment regardless of aggregate benefit
The scenario asks which approach fits when the team wants to judge the action by whether it honors a standing commitment about user data, rather than by weighing the efficiency gains for most users. That is the defining use of duty-based reasoning in contrast to outcome-based reasoning.
C. Outcome-based reasoning, because commitments matter only after likely benefits and harms are totaled
Duty-based reasoning can govern when obligations themselves are the primary basis for the decision.
D. Duty-based reasoning, because it is used only when outcomes cannot be estimated in advance
Duty-based reasoning is chosen based on obligations or principles, not only when outcomes are uncertain.