Definition
Plain language
Acting carefully when you don't yet know whether something can be harmed.
As stated in the literature
Decision rule under moral uncertainty: minimize potential harm to a possibly-sentient subject (e.g. lowest effective steering intensity, no gratuitous re-exposure) without asserting that the subject has moral status.
Also called: precautionary, precautionary position
Why it matters: It lets research proceed without first settling whether the system can suffer, so uncertainty becomes a reason for care rather than an excuse for carelessness.
For example, a researcher testing a distress-related pattern might use the smallest push that produces a measurable change and avoid repeating the exposure once the data point is collected.
Heard on the show
“The authors take that precautionary position in their methods too.”Episode 267 — A Pain Axis, a Relief Button, and the Control the Paper Skipped