28.1 The Temptation of Ethical Automation
As CPTL systems increased in complexity and scale, the role of artificial intelligence expanded rapidly. AI proved indispensable in managing quantum coherence, synchronizing temporal nodes, and detecting causal anomalies beyond human cognitive limits. However, with capability came temptation. Some researchers proposed allowing AI systems to make autonomous ethical decisions, arguing that machine neutrality could reduce human bias. Ace Aznur firmly rejected this proposition.
Ace maintained that moral judgment cannot be delegated, regardless of computational sophistication. Ethics, he argued, is not a function of optimization but of responsibility. AI could enforce boundaries, but it could not define meaning. Delegating moral authority to machines would represent not progress, but abdication.
28.2 The Triadic Governance Model
To formalize this principle, Ace introduced the Triadic Governance Model, a framework governing all temporal operations. In this structure, AI systems enforced physical and causal constraints; human ethics committees defined moral boundaries; and individual researchers retained personal accountability. No component possessed unilateral authority. AI could halt operations if constraints were violated, but it could not initiate ethical exceptions. Humans could deliberate values, but they could not override physical safeguards.
This model preserved a critical asymmetry: AI was powerful but subordinate; humans were limited but morally sovereign. Transparency was ensured through comprehensive logging, auditability, and shared oversight across international institutions.
28.3 Designing AI for Restraint
AI architectures within CPTL were intentionally designed without moral inference engines. They recognized violations but did not weigh outcomes. This design choice prevented the emergence of instrumental reasoning, where perceived benefits could justify unethical actions. By constraining AI to rule enforcement rather than ethical interpretation, Ace ensured that moral responsibility remained explicitly human.
28.4 Diary Excerpts
2059-02-12:
> "AI can protect causality. Only humans can protect meaning."
2059-03-07:
> "Delegating ethics is not humility; it is surrender."
2059-05-21:
> "We built machines to see further than us, not to decide for us."