Prioritization First, Principles Second: An Adaptive Interpretation of Helpful, Honest, and Harmless Principles

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Main Authors: Huang, Yue, Gao, Chujie, Zhou, Yujun, Guo, Kehan, Wang, Xiangqi, Cohen-Sasson, Or, Lamparth, Max, Zhang, Xiangliang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Huang, Yue
Gao, Chujie
Zhou, Yujun
Guo, Kehan
Wang, Xiangqi
Cohen-Sasson, Or
Lamparth, Max
Zhang, Xiangliang
author_facet Huang, Yue
Gao, Chujie
Zhou, Yujun
Guo, Kehan
Wang, Xiangqi
Cohen-Sasson, Or
Lamparth, Max
Zhang, Xiangliang
contents The Helpful, Honest, and Harmless (HHH) principle is a foundational framework for aligning AI systems with human values. However, existing interpretations of the HHH principle often overlook contextual variability and conflicting requirements across applications. In this paper, we argue for an adaptive interpretation of the HHH principle and propose a reference framework for its adaptation to diverse scenarios. We first examine the principle's foundational significance and identify ambiguities and conflicts through case studies of its dimensions. To address these challenges, we introduce the concept of priority order, which provides a structured approach for balancing trade-offs among helpfulness, honesty, and harmlessness. Further, we explore the interrelationships between these dimensions, demonstrating how harmlessness and helpfulness can be jointly enhanced and analyzing their interdependencies in high-risk evaluations. Building on these insights, we propose a reference framework that integrates context definition, value prioritization, risk assessment, and benchmarking standards to guide the adaptive application of the HHH principle. This work offers practical insights for improving AI alignment, ensuring that HHH principles remain both ethically grounded and operationally effective in real-world AI deployment.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_06059
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Prioritization First, Principles Second: An Adaptive Interpretation of Helpful, Honest, and Harmless Principles
Huang, Yue
Gao, Chujie
Zhou, Yujun
Guo, Kehan
Wang, Xiangqi
Cohen-Sasson, Or
Lamparth, Max
Zhang, Xiangliang
Computers and Society
The Helpful, Honest, and Harmless (HHH) principle is a foundational framework for aligning AI systems with human values. However, existing interpretations of the HHH principle often overlook contextual variability and conflicting requirements across applications. In this paper, we argue for an adaptive interpretation of the HHH principle and propose a reference framework for its adaptation to diverse scenarios. We first examine the principle's foundational significance and identify ambiguities and conflicts through case studies of its dimensions. To address these challenges, we introduce the concept of priority order, which provides a structured approach for balancing trade-offs among helpfulness, honesty, and harmlessness. Further, we explore the interrelationships between these dimensions, demonstrating how harmlessness and helpfulness can be jointly enhanced and analyzing their interdependencies in high-risk evaluations. Building on these insights, we propose a reference framework that integrates context definition, value prioritization, risk assessment, and benchmarking standards to guide the adaptive application of the HHH principle. This work offers practical insights for improving AI alignment, ensuring that HHH principles remain both ethically grounded and operationally effective in real-world AI deployment.
title Prioritization First, Principles Second: An Adaptive Interpretation of Helpful, Honest, and Harmless Principles
topic Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.06059