# Societal and technological progress as sewing an ever-growing, ever-changing, patchy, and polychrome quilt

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.05197 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.05197/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 62 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 8 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Concrete Problems in AI Safety](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.06565/) (2016)
- [Optimal Policies Tend to Seek Power](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01683/) (2019)
- [Incomplete Contracting and AI Alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.04268/) (2018)
- [A theory of appropriateness with applications to generative artificial intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.19010/) (2024)
- [A learning agent that acquires social norms from public sanctions in decentralized multi-agent settings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09012/) (2021)
- [Legible Normativity for AI Alignment: The Value of Silly Rules](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.01267/) (2018)
- [Model-free conventions in multi-agent reinforcement learning with heterogeneous preferences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.09054/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Cultivating Pluralism In Algorithmic Monoculture: The Community Alignment Dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.09650/) (2025)
- [LLM Economist: Large Population Models and Mechanism Design in Multi-Agent Generative Simulacra](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.15815/) (2025)
- [Social physics in the age of artificial intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.16900/) (2026)
- [Positive Alignment: Artificial Intelligence for Human Flourishing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.10310/) (2026)
- [AI as Entertainment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.08768/) (2026)
- [SCRuB: Social Concept Reasoning under Rubric-Based Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.06444/) (2026)
- [Solipsistic Superintelligence is Unlikely to be Cooperative](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.03237/) (2026)
- [Distributed Legal Infrastructure for a Trustworthy Agentic Web](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.06884/) (2026)
- [From Certain Doom to Survival: Agent-Driven Self-Governance in LLM Agent Societies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.22600/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly placed in positions where their decisions have real consequences, e.g., moderating online spaces, conducting research, and advising on policy. Ensuring they operate in a safe and ethically acceptable fashion is thus critical. However, most solutions have been a form of one-size-fits-all "alignment". We are worried that such systems, which overlook enduring moral diversity, will spark resistance, erode trust, and destabilize our institutions. This paper traces the underlying problem to an often-unstated Axiom of Rational Convergence: the idea that under ideal conditions, rational agents will converge in the limit of conversation on a single ethics. Treating that premise as both optional and doubtful, we propose what we call the appropriateness framework: an alternative approach grounded in conflict theory, cultural evolution, multi-agent systems, and institutional economics. The appropriateness framework treats persistent disagreement as the normal case and designs for it by applying four principles: (1) contextual grounding, (2) community customization, (3) continual adaptation, and (4) polycentric governance. We argue here that adopting these design principles is a good way to shift the main alignment metaphor from moral unification to a more productive metaphor of conflict management, and that taking this step is both desirable and urgent.