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Max Tegmark and Meia Chita-Tegmark’s six questions ask AI researchers to turn ethical principles into decisions they can act on—especially when workplace incentives make it easier to look away. Their checklist, published on LessWrong on 29 May 2026, is advice rather than a validated intervention: it offers no measured evidence that using the questions changes outcomes. The authors’ opening challenge is: “Of course you have moral principles – but how often do you use them?”
1. Do you have red lines?
A red line is an organizational action you regard as morally unacceptable, paired with a response you would actually take if it happened. The point is to decide while you can think clearly, rather than improvising under pressure from colleagues, career incentives, or a fast-moving situation.
Make the line specific enough to guide a decision. Consider what conduct or outcome would cross it, what evidence would persuade you that it had happened, and what response you would take. The authors give leaving and whistleblowing as examples of costly actions. A red line that carries no intended consequence may be too vague to help when tested.
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Record each red line alongside the action you commit to taking. Writing it down makes the commitment easier to recall and review; sharing it with trusted people can add accountability. Choose people who can hear the concern seriously and protect sensitive information.
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A useful record distinguishes the principle from the trigger and the response: what you will not support, what would count as crossing that boundary, and what you will do next. Treat it as a personal decision aid, not as a substitute for checking facts or understanding applicable workplace policies.
3. Have you resisted moral disengagement?
The authors draw on psychologist Albert Bandura’s concept of moral disengagement and also invoke Hannah Arendt. They use the idea to ask how people can reason or speak in ways that make harmful conduct seem acceptable, distant, or someone else’s responsibility. Their examples are a prompt for reflection, not evidence about how often these patterns occur in AI workplaces.
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- Shifting or diffusing responsibility: treating a decision as nobody’s responsibility because it was made by a team, approved by a manager, or embedded in a process.
- Euphemistic labeling: using softened or technical language that obscures what an action does or who may be affected.
- Blaming critics: dismissing people who raise concerns instead of examining the underlying claim.
- Abstracting affected people: reducing individuals to categories, metrics, or distant populations in a way that makes consequences harder to see.
- Making self-serving exceptions: applying a principle to others while carving out a convenient exception for one’s own organization or interests.
- Comparing only with worse actors: using another organization’s behavior to make one’s own conduct look acceptable.
- Invoking a higher purpose: presenting harm as justified by a claimed beneficial goal without examining the harm or the alternatives.
When one of these explanations feels persuasive, pause and ask what it leaves out: who made the choice, who bears the consequences, and whether the same reasoning would seem acceptable if used by someone outside your organization.
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4. Do you maintain situational awareness?
Check whether the organization is approaching one of your red lines. The authors urge readers not to rely solely on internal narratives: look at organizational behavior, product use, lobbying, and alleged harms, including consequences that may be indirect. Ask what a product enables in practice, how it is used, and who may be affected beyond the immediate customer or team.
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Separate what you know from what you suspect. Identify the evidence behind a concern, what remains unclear, and what information could change your assessment. The LessWrong article discusses particular companies and incidents, but those examples should be treated as claims made by its authors, not as independently verified findings here.
5. Do you make noise internally?
When you have a concern, seek information and explain it to colleagues or managers who can clarify facts or influence the decision. The purpose is not to turn every disagreement into an accusation; it is to make a material risk visible and press for change where appropriate.
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- CONNECT AND RECONNECT: Use this conversation-starter game to explore fun and thought-provoking questions you would not ordinarily ask.
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- State the specific behavior, decision, or potential impact that concerns you.
- Describe the evidence you have and distinguish it from unanswered questions.
- Ask for the information needed to assess the issue and for the relevant decision-making process.
- Explain how the issue relates to your red line and what change you believe would address it.
- Keep an appropriate record of the concern and the response, following applicable policies and confidentiality requirements.
6. Do you make noise externally?
The authors include public criticism or reporting harmful or illegal behavior among possible responses. External disclosure can carry significant personal and professional consequences, and the right course depends on the seriousness of the concern, the evidence, available internal channels, relevant policies, and applicable law.
Before disclosing information outside the organization, review the policies that apply and consider getting qualified legal advice. The article also points readers toward reputable whistleblower organizations that may offer legal support or financial assistance, but it names no provider. Do not assume a particular organization can help, that support is available in your jurisdiction, or that any disclosure is protected; verify those details independently.
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How to use the six questions
The questions work best as a connected decision aid: set a boundary and response in advance, notice when reasoning is obscuring responsibility or impact, gather information about what the organization is doing, and choose an appropriate way to raise a concern. The checklist does not establish that any particular organization has crossed a line, and it does not replace careful fact-finding, policy review, or legal advice.
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