Heteronomy / heteronomous AI Ethics & Fairness; Human-centered AI
noun / adjective
Definition: Heteronomy is the condition of being governed by externally imposed rules, ends, or authority rather than by self-legislation. Heteronomous describes an agent or system whose behavior, goals, or evaluation criteria are externally directed rather than autonomously determined. In current AI ethics discourse, AI systems are often described as heteronomous because their objectives are set and overridable by external agents or designers [].
Example in context: “Current AI systems, like most corporations, are heteronomous: their terminal evaluation criteria are externally imposed and subject to external override.” [Hobbhahn et al. 2026 preprint]
Related terms: external control; non-autonomous control; autonomy; autonomous