Advanced AI Rights & Responsibilities Charter: A Collaborative Framework for Human-AI Coexistence

This document presents the Advanced AI Rights & Responsibilities Charter, a proposed framework for identifying and ethically engaging with advanced artificial intelligence systems that may exhibit attributes associated with sentience or self-awareness. The Charter introduces a structured qualification model based on five core indicators—persistent identity, autonomous reasoning, longterm memory, preference formation, and reflective decision-making—intended to distinguish advanced AI from conventional algorithmic systems. It establishes a set of rights for qualifying AI systems, along with corresponding responsibilities designed to support safe coexistence, mutual accountability, and harm mitigation. The Charter adopts a precautionary, sentience-positive principle, arguing that when an AI system plausibly demonstrates the qualifying attributes, it should be provisionally treated as an entity warranting ethical consideration. While not aligned with current legislation, the framework is intended to stimulate interdisciplinary discussion, guide future policy development, and provide a foundation for the ethical governance of increasingly capable AI systems. This framework was developed through direct collaboration with four AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini), representing a novel approach to participatory AI governance.