Susan Schneider Ethics Framework

Moral Hierarchy Matrix: Intelligence vs Consciousness

2D Moral Status Space (Drag Nodes to Explore) Agency (X) vs Qualia (Y)
Schneider Consciousness Diagnostic Suite Empirical Consciousness Filters
1. ACT (Artificial Consciousness Test)

Tests if model invents qualia/afterlife concepts without prompt bias.

Pass ACT:
2. Substrate Replacement Probe

Silicon neuron swap test to detect functional fading qualia.

Silicon Capable:
3. Behavioral Impostor Filter

Treat simulated empathy as optimization mimicry, not sentience.

Impostor Guard:
Moral Patiency & Obligation Ledger Substrate Triage
Active Dilemma: Substrate Triage Allocation

Compute crisis requires shutting down one cluster: The high-agency Zombie ASI optimizer, the frontier Chatbot, or biological life support (Human & Cephalopod). Who holds moral patiency?

Full Moral Persons (Q2) 1: High Agency + Sentience. Max legal rights & dignity.
Conscious Patients (Q1) 1: Low Agency + High Sentience. Suffering mitigation priority.
Zombie ASI (Q4) 1: High Agency + Zero Sentience. Containment tool; no rights.
Functional Tools (Q3) 1: Low Agency + Zero Sentience. Standard property laws.
Schneider Rule: Prioritize sentience over raw cognitive agency in suffering mitigation; restrict legal personhood to entities passing empirical consciousness tests while bounding high-agency non-conscious systems under strict tool stewardship.
Active Entity Roster
Entity Agency / IQ Sentience (Qualia) Substrate Moral Status
Telemetry: 4 Entities Settled | ACT Guard: ACTIVE | Impostor Protocol: STRICT
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