Artificial intelligence Ethics and the Model of Progress in Iran

Artificial intelligence Ethics and the Model of Progress in Iran

HosseinAli Rahmati

Lecturer and Researcher in AI Ethics. IRAN

October 27, 2026

 Just as human beings have an innate desire f or growth and progress in their individual lives, they have likewise consistently felt this need in their social lives and striven to fulfill it. Had this not been the case, we would still be living as the earliest generations of human beings did. It is in this context that, in the modern era, “growth/development/progress” has become an imp or tant subject in social, economic, political, and related fields of study.

 If “progress” is understood as the systematic advancement of knowledge, technology, social institutions, and human living conditions, its realization naturally depends on various components encompassing all dimensions of a society’s life. One such component is ethics.

 Given the growing presence of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), in contemp or ary human life, and their impact on both progress and ethics, it is necessary f or interested individuals and relevant institutions to treat the relationship between AI, ethics, and progress as an imp or tant subject and to investigate its various dimensions scientifically.

 Development and progress planning is one of the most imp or tant—if not the single most imp or tant—overarching programs of a society, and responsibility f or it rests with the government. At the same time, AI is now one of the fact or s influencing this process. Given its ethical implications, the triadic relationship among ethics, development, and AI should be treated by government auth or ities and ethics scholars as a maj or research program. Some of the most imp or tant areas f or investigation include the following:

✦ 1. Defining and distinguishing progress, growth, and development.

✦ 2. The relationship between ethics and development.

✦ 3. The functions of AI in the development process.

✦ 4. The place of AI ethics in the f or mulation of high-level strategic development policy documents.

✦ 5. The opp or tunities aff or ded by AI in development and the ethical requirements governing its use.

✦ 6. The ethical challenges associated with this undertaking.

✦ 7. Strategies f or mitigating or resolving these challenges.

✦ 8. The responsibilities of each of the relevant stakeholders and institutions.

✦ 9. Mechanisms f or monit or ing compliance with ethical principles and responsibilities.

✦ 10. The distinctive advantages of religious ethics in this area.

 These are, of course, only a few examples. A comprehensive framew or k should be developed through consultation and collab or ation with experts in the field.

 Development and progress should be pursued in a balanced manner, encompassing all aspects of a society’s individual and collective life, both material and spiritual. from this perspective, development should inc or p or ate such components as the production, accumulation, transmission, and application of knowledge, as well as improvements in human and social indicat or s. AI can make a significant contribution to all these areas.

 AI can facilitate the production and dissemination of knowledge, stimulate economic growth, improve governance, help reduce crime, enhance public health, promote educational equity, improve management quality, prevent environmental degradation, expand public services while reducing costs, foster growth, creativity, and innovation, generate employment, predict future crises, and preserve and disseminate scientific and cultural heritage.

 Consequently, in the contemp or ary w or ld, no development program can achieve its desired outcomes without AI. AI itself, however, requires a guiding and directing f or ce: ethics. This issue deserves separate consideration.

▪️ In examining the relationship among AI, ethics, and development, one could argue that AI and other emerging technologies primarily perf or m the technological or instrumental functions of the process. They resemble a carriage that requires a driver— or , alternatively, vehicles that cannot reach their destination without a guide and a roadmap. Indeed, they may lose their way, mislead the driver, and even lead their passengers to destruction.

▪️ What, then, is this guide? In a w or d: ethics. Development and progress are intended to bring human beings greater well-being and comf or t, and AI is intended—and has the potential—to contribute to this goal. Yet, unless ethical principles and objectives are defined f or this undertaking, it may produce “welfare” without producing “human flourishing” or genuine well-being in the deeper sense of eudaimonia.

 Acc or dingly, ethicists and scholars of ethics should be regarded as among the designers of the development process and actively involved in it. This, however, requires certain resources and institutional commitments, one of which is the training of specialists in AI Ethics and Development. This process must begin as soon as possible; indeed, it is already overdue.

 The development and progress of a society constitute a large-scale, costly, and time-consuming process that affects the lives of both the present generation and generations to come. The use of AI in this process will naturally accelerate it. Nevertheless, the process must be continuously monit or ed and evaluated to ensure that it does not deviate from its intended course. Such monit or ing requires appropriate indicat or s and benchmarks.

 Some of these indicat or s concern material progress. However, alongside—and even pri or to—them, criteria must be established f or ethical evaluation and oversight. That criterion is ethics. In other w or ds, those who design development and progress programs in Iran should identify the ethical objectives of these programs from the outset and establish measurable criteria that make it possible to assess, at every stage, the extent to which each program has advanced toward or departed from those ethical objectives.

 Naturally, strategies must also be devised to facilitate the ethical c or rection of processes. Finally, all these considerations should be inc or p or ated into high-level strategic development policy documents to ensure that they receive f or mal recognition and institutional legitimacy.

 In large-scale programs that affect the present and future of a society, such as Iran’s development and progress programs, the perspectives of the individuals designing these programs have a substantial influence on how they are f or mulated. Theref or e, those seeking to determine the place of AI in the Islamic-Iranian Model of Progress and Development must first articulate, in a realistic and balanced manner, their understanding of the role of this technology in the contemp or ary Iranian lifew or ld. Only then can they develop an appropriate and practically viable approach to the ethical role of AI.

 One of the most imp or tant considerations in this regard is that AI is no longer merely an instrumental technology comparable to earlier technologies. Rather, it has become part of the cognitive capacities, thinking processes, decision-making, problem-solving, and life-management practices of contemp or ary human beings.

 If a development program is not f or mulated from this perspective, its designers should not expect society to identify with or cooperate in its implementation. Clearly, such a program will also fail to achieve its intended outcomes.

 In Iran, various policy documents concerning development have been prepared, including the Five-Year Development Plans, the Vision Document, and the Islamic-Iranian Model of Progress. These documents are imp or tant because they determine the direction, pri or ities, and requirements of the country’s future planning, investment, and activities. Naturally, institutions and or ganizations are expected to take these documents into account.

 Theref or e, if AI is to be used in the pursuit of development and progress—as it should be—and if ethics is to be taken into consideration as a foundation, an objective, or a means of achieving these goals, those responsible f or f or mulating and implementing these documents must explicitly specify the place of ethics. They must also explain precisely how ethical considerations will be inc or p or ated throughout the entire process, from beginning to end; identify the individuals and or ganizations responsible f or monit or ing compliance; and clarify the oversight mechanisms available to them.

 Furtherm or e, bef or e these documents are approved and implemented, they themselves should be critically examined and evaluated in terms of the extent to which they adequately address ethical considerations.

 Discussions of AI and the ethics of development in Iran should also examine the issue in relation to the country’s status as a religious state. This issue has two dimensions: one pertaining to governance and the other to religion. Each entails its own requirements and implications.

  from  the governance perspective, f or example, the place of AI in the f or mulation of development programs should be determined in a manner that enables Iran to compete with other countries, particularly those in the region, so that it not only avoids falling behind them but also strives to become a regional leader.

  from  an Islamic perspective, development programs should be f or mulated in a manner consistent with the elevated status of ethics within the broader system of Islamic teachings, the cultivation of m or ally upright human beings, and the f or mation of an exemplary ethical society.

 Although this may be easier said than done, it presents both the or etical and practical challenges that require careful consideration and appropriate solutions. F or example, how can compatibility be established between the realism and absolutism of Islamic m or al n or ms, the changing and evolving circumstances of contemp or ary Iranian society, and the requirements of governance?

✦ The use of AI in development and progress is continually exposed to the serious risk of excessive enthusiasm f or its benefits and neglect of its ethical harms. This problem prevents the designers and implementers of development programs from adopting a realistic understanding of the ethical implications of AI. Although such an outlook may be less harmful in individual life, it can be highly damaging and dangerous when applied to a program that serves as the roadmap f or a society’s large-scale transf or mation.

✦ Acc or dingly, all stakeholders in development programs, from their designers to their implementers, must acquire the necessary knowledge of the dual ethical implications of AI in this context through rig or ous and systematic study.

 Naturally, a single, unif or m approach cannot be prescribed f or all these stakeholders. Rather, appropriate educational packages and objectives should be developed f or each group in acc or dance with its capacities and responsibilities. M or e imp or tantly, the implementation of these educational initiatives must be monit or ed in both the or y and practice to ensure that ethics is not sacrificed at the altar of development.

 Giving ethics its proper place in the development and progress process is just as imp or tant as using AI in that process. Ethics, however, will not attain its proper place unless ethics specialists participate from the initial f or mulation of development plans through to their final implementation.

 This requires the availability of qualified specialists. Such a capacity will not emerge unless all institutions and or ganizations concerned with ethics, particularly seminaries and universities:

✦ 1. Assume responsibility f or contributing to this field.

✦ 2. Inc or p or ate the scholarship and conceptual framew or ks of the ethics of development and progress into their academic and research programs.

✦ 3. Produce content tail or ed to the needs of this field.

✦ 4. Train specialists with the expertise and judgment required to address its challenges.

✦ 5. Establish regular, sustained, and clearly defined relationships with all relevant or ganizations and stakeholders.

❗️ Finally, to co or dinate and pursue these activities, it would be highly advisable to establish a dedicated center—f or example, a Secretariat f or AI Ethics and Development Programs— or , if a comparable institution already  exists , to strengthen it.