Question 7
Domain 1: Ethical Foundations and Decision FrameworksAn AI product team discovers that collecting additional user data could improve model performance, but doing so would violate a privacy commitment the company previously made to customers. If the team uses duty-based reasoning rather than outcome-based reasoning, which action is most appropriate?
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Duty-based reasoning gives priority to following obligations, rules, or commitments even when breaking them might produce better overall results. Outcome-based reasoning instead focuses primarily on which choice leads to the best 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. Collect the data because better model performance creates the greatest overall benefit.
Outcome-based reasoning evaluates which action produces the best overall consequences rather than honoring a prior commitment.
B. Decline to collect the data because the prior privacy commitment should be honored.
The scenario centers on a conflict between improved results and an existing obligation to customers. Duty-based reasoning is more appropriate when the decision turns on whether a commitment must be kept, so honoring the privacy commitment fits that approach.
C. Collect the data only if the performance gains are large enough to justify the tradeoff.
Duty-based reasoning does not depend on weighing how large the resulting benefits might be.
D. Delay the decision until the team can estimate the financial value of the added data more precisely.
Estimating value focuses on consequences, which aligns with outcome-based reasoning rather than obligation-based reasoning.