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Draft Whitepaper - FA as the Foundation of Valuegenerative AI

Making the case that Formal Axiology may be the best and only viable science that can give AI a universally applicable grounding for moral and ethical partnership with humanity.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping society, but current ethical frameworks remain fragmented and aspirational. Principles such as fairness, transparency, and accountability lack a universal ordering, making conflicts difficult to resolve. Philosophical traditions—deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics—inform debate but resist computational translation.

This paper advances Formal Axiology, the science of value developed by Robert S. Hartman, as a universal and computable foundation for AI ethics. Formal Axiology distinguishes systemic (S), extrinsic (E), and intrinsic (I) value and establishes a hierarchy (I > E > S) that prevents ethical collapse by prioritizing human dignity. Combinatorial subdimensions (e.g., I+E, S–I) further enable nuanced evaluation of complex contexts.

We present an architecture for Value-Generative AI (VAI), integrating value parsing, axiological reasoning, conflict mediation, and a Value Inquiry Prompt-Back (VIP) function to request missing context. Case studies demonstrate applications in healthcare, autonomous systems, business, and environmental decision-making.

The paper concludes with the Hartman Initiative for Value-Generative AI, calling for researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to embed axiological principles into intelligent systems, ensuring AI becomes not only ethical but actively value-generative.