On the Troubled Relation Between AI Ethics and AI Safety

Book chapter, 2026

The terms “AI ethics” and “AI safety” are fuzzy around the edges and overlap, but roughly speaking the former addresses the more incremental and contextual effects of present-day AI, while the latter puts more emphasis on transformative consequences of future AI, including existential risk. There is a perceived conflict between the two fields, centered around the idea of a competition for a joint but fixed pool of attention and resources. This chapter argues that the perception is based mostly on misunderstandings, and that if there is to be a conflict at all in this sphere, it makes much more sense if AI ethicists and AI safetyists join forces against the so-called AI accelerationists.