Ethical AI as a Moral Agent is Impossible: Why Algorithmic Fairness is an Illusion and We Need Democratic AI Governance

The current debate around artificial intelligence revolves around the question of how to make AI systems more ethical. This article advances the more radical thesis that ethical AI is categorically impossible—not due to technical limitations, but for fundamental philosophical reasons. The paper argues that moral action requires consciousness, intentionality, and the capacity to assume responsibility. AI systems possess none of these properties, nor can they acquire them through improved algorithms. The problem is not technical but categorical in nature: machines are not moral agents and cannot become such. Building on this philosophical foundation, the article analyzes the structural contradictions of current AI ethics approaches. Using the fairness trilemma (Chouldechova, Kleinberg), it demonstrates that even formal-mathematical attempts to develop "fair" algorithms fail due to irresolvable goal conflicts. The case study on algorithmic risk assessment in criminal justice shows how AI systems systematically reproduce existing inequalities regardless of their developers' intentions. The consequence of this analysis is not pessimistic about technology but clarifying: instead of relying on algorithmic self-regulation, the focus must be directed toward institutional control, democratic governance, and human responsibility. The paper develops principles for regulation that treats AI systems as what they are: tools that require human oversight and political steering. The article thus positions itself against the dominant discourse that equates technical optimization with ethical improvement, advocating for a paradigm shift from "ethical AI" to "ethical AI governance."