KLEP Ethics and Emotion Systems

The KLEP Ethics and KLEP Emotion systems introduce layers of ethical reasoning and emotional state management to the KLEP framework. Together, they influence the weight of choices in decision-making, creating nuanced and dynamic agent behavior. These systems are still in development but lay the groundwork for fascinating exploration in AI ethics and emotion.

Philosophical Foundation

The philosophical underpinning of these systems is that our emotional state acts as an abstract representation of our ethical evaluations—of ourselves and those around us. To achieve and maintain a “good” emotional state, agents must perform good actions, both individually and collectively.

While ethics is not a solved problem, this system allows developers to define their own ethical frameworks. For example, a utilitarian approach can prioritize the greatest good for the greatest number, but developers are free to implement deontology, virtue ethics, or hybrid models.

The key insight here is that violations of an ethical system impact the emotional states of those who adhere to it, influencing future choices. The magnitude (V2) of emotional swings between evaluations indicates whether an agent is emotionally erratic, helping developers diagnose and refine their AI behaviors.

KLEP Ethics

The KLEPEthics system provides a foundation for moral reasoning by evaluating the consequences of actions based on developer-defined ethical rules.

Core Features

Ethical Rules:
- Define scenarios (e.g., “Harm to own team”) and assign utility values to them.
- Positive utility values encourage certain actions; negative values discourage them.
Action Evaluation:
- Actions are evaluated against ethical rules to determine their moral weight.
- Ethical violations reduce the attractiveness of an action, making them less likely to be chosen.
Customizable Framework:
- Developers can define their own ethical system (utilitarian, deontological, etc.).
- This flexibility allows tailoring ethics to the needs of the application.

Example Implementation

ethicalRules.Add(new EthicalRule { Description = "Harm to own team", UtilityValue = -2.0f });
ethicalRules.Add(new EthicalRule { Description = "Benefit to own team", UtilityValue = 2.0f });

Integration with Emotion

Ethical violations directly impact the emotional state, feeding into the KLEP Emotion System.
Actions with high ethical utility reinforce positive emotions, while violations increase displeasure.

KLEP Emotion System

The KLEP Emotion System models an agent’s emotional state using a 2D vector:

X-axis: Pleasure-Displeasure (Hedonic Tone)
Y-axis: Arousal-Deactivation

The system captures and averages emotional states over time, allowing for dynamic responses to stimuli. Core Features

Dynamic Emotional States:
    Current emotions are calculated as an average of recent emotional inputs.
    Emotional "friction" causes decay over time, simulating natural fading of emotions.
High-Intensity Thresholds:
    When emotions cross a threshold, they can trigger extreme behaviors or override rational decisions.
Emotional History:
    Tracks recent emotional states to inform current evaluations and provide behavioral consistency.

Example Implementation

public Vector2 EvaluateAction(string actionDescription) { Vector2 emotionImpact = Vector2.zero; foreach (var rule in ethicalRules) { if (actionDescription.Contains(rule.Description)) { emotionImpact += new Vector2(rule.UtilityValue, Mathf.Abs(rule.UtilityValue)); } } return emotionImpact.normalized; }

Interplay Between Ethics and Emotion

The KLEP Ethics and KLEP Emotion systems are deeply interconnected:

Ethics Influences Emotion:
    Violating ethical rules impacts the emotional state, creating consequences for poor decisions.
Emotion Modulates Ethics:
    Emotional swings can override ethical rules in critical situations.
    For example, high arousal during an emergency might justify bending a rule to save lives.
Memory Integration:
    Emotional states tied to past decisions are stored in SLASHMemory.
    This enables agents to learn from past experiences and adapt their ethical and emotional responses over time.

Applications Weighted Decision-Making

Ethical evaluations and emotional states modify the attractiveness of actions.
Combined with key/lock attraction and Q-values, this creates a multi-dimensional decision-making process.

Dynamic Adaptation

The systems allow for real-time adjustments to behavior based on changing moral and emotional contexts.
For example, an agent may abandon a harmful action if its emotional and ethical penalties outweigh its utility.

Realistic AI Behavior

By integrating ethics and emotions, KLEP creates behavior that feels more human-like, enhancing immersion in games and simulations.

Future Directions KLEP Ethics

Advanced Rule Systems: Develop richer ethical frameworks with conditional logic.
Dynamic Ethics: Allow ethical rules to evolve based on the agent’s experiences and outcomes.

KLEP Emotion

Complex Emotional Models: Introduce multi-dimensional emotions and combinatory states.
Personality Profiles: Tailor emotional responses to create unique personalities for agents.

Interconnection

Expand the relationship between ethics, emotion, and memory to create a more holistic decision-making framework.

Conclusion

The KLEP Ethics and KLEP Emotion systems provide a robust foundation for incorporating moral reasoning and emotional dynamics into AI agents. By influencing the weight of decisions, these systems enable nuanced and adaptive behavior, grounded in philosophical principles and designed for practical applications. Key Insight

Our emotional state reflects our ethical evaluations of ourselves and those around us. By striving for a positive state, agents naturally encourage good actions, both individually and collectively. This interconnected design fosters intelligent, ethical, and emotionally aware AI.