Virtue, Vice, and Socratic Irony: Benevolent LLMs as Tools for Moral Enhancement

Abstract: As part of the concept of a benevolent multi-agent AI, we propose introducing "benevolent" and "malevolent" agents who support human moral flourishing. The project is based on the Aristotelian understanding of benevolence as wishing the good of another person for their own sake, and malevolence as wishing vice or flaw upon another person. The proposed system allows users to dynamically interact and switch between a benevolent agent that supports virtue and a malevolent one that trains the user's "moral muscles" and nudges them toward vice through provocation and Socratic irony. Such an architecture prevents the risk of moral indoctrination and the creation of artificial "moral saints," while simultaneously provoking moral reflection. As a result, this system is intended to serve as a tool for moral enhancement, developing human critical moral reflection and self-understanding.

Speakers' bios: Bartłomiej Skowron is a philosopher and Platonist working at the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences at Warsaw University of Technology, specializing in the mathematical philosophy, ontology, phenomenology, and AI ethics.

Jarosław Chudziak is based at the same university's Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, focusing on intelligent information systems, artificial intelligence, data engineering technologies, advanced data analytics, and knowledge representation methods.

Moderator's bio: Ted Theodosopoulos is a mathematician who, after working for years in academia and industry, transitioned to teaching at the pre-college level seventeen years ago, the last nine at Nueva, where he teaches math and economics. Ted’s research background is in the area of interacting stochastic systems, with particular applications in biology and economics.

Computer scienceMathematics

Audience: researchers in the topic

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Relatorium seminar

Series comments: The name "Relatorium" combines "relator" with the Latin root "-ium," meaning "a place for activities" (as in "auditorium" or "gymnasium"). This seminar series is a platform to relate ideas, interact with math, and connect with each other.

In this series, we explore math beyond what we usually hear in standard talks. These sessions fall somewhere between a technical talk and a podcast: moderately formal, yet conversational. The philosophy behind the series is that math is best learned by active participation rather than passive listening. Our aim is to “engage and involve,” inviting everyone to think actively with the speaker. The concepts are accessible, exploratory, and intended to spark questions and discussions.

The idea of relatability has strong ties to compassion — creating space for shared understanding and exploration - which is the spirit of this seminar! This is a pilot project, so we’re here to improvise, learn, and evolve as we go!

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