Question 13
Domain 1: Ethical Foundations and Decision FrameworksAn AI product team discovers that a proposed feature could increase user engagement but would require practices that conflict with the company's stated privacy obligations. Which ethical approach is most appropriate if the team must decide whether those obligations should be followed even when the feature could produce beneficial results?
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Duty-based reasoning is most appropriate when the decision turns on whether a rule, obligation, or principle must be followed regardless of the results. Outcome-based reasoning is more appropriate when the main question is which option produces the best overall consequences. — 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. Use outcome-based reasoning, because beneficial results should override stated obligations in most business cases.
Outcome-based reasoning evaluates results, not whether an obligation must be honored regardless of consequences.
B. Use duty-based reasoning, because the decision centers on whether a privacy obligation must be upheld even if outcomes seem favorable.
The scenario asks whether the team should follow a stated privacy obligation even when the feature may increase engagement. That is the defining use of duty-based reasoning: deciding based on the obligation itself rather than on the beneficial results the feature might produce.
C. Use outcome-based reasoning, because any decision involving user engagement is primarily about measuring business impact.
User engagement does not determine the framework; the key issue is whether a duty controls the decision.
D. Use duty-based reasoning, because it is the standard approach whenever a decision affects a large number of users.
The number of affected users does not by itself make duty-based reasoning the proper framework.