The CARE Framework for Situated Ethical Deliberation About Artificial Intelligence

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This conceptual paper introduces the CARE Framework for Situated Ethical Deliberation, a practice-oriented approach for evaluating specific uses of artificial intelligence in healthcare, behavioral health, social work, human services, and related professional settings. CARE organizes ethical deliberation around four interdependent dimensions: Context, Authority, Risk, and Engagement. Rather than treating an AI system as the sole unit of analysis, the framework examines a bounded use within a particular setting—including the people affected, the purpose of the technology, the authority assigned to it, the potential distribution of harms and benefits, and the role of meaningful human participation and relationships. The framework supports transparent, case-specific decisions about whether an AI use should proceed as proposed, proceed with safeguards, be narrowed or piloted, undergo additional review, be paused, be declined, or be discontinued. Contrasting practice scenarios demonstrate how ethical judgments may change when an AI system’s function, authority, context, consequences, or relational significance changes. CARE is presented as a conceptually grounded, practice-informed framework intended to complement—not replace—professional standards, technical validation, organizational governance, legal requirements, or discipline-specific review. It is offered for scholarly critique, professional application, refinement, and future empirical evaluation.