---
title: "Deontology: when rules come before outcomes"
course: "PHIL 110 · Make ethical calls about AI"
unit: "Ethical frameworks"
lesson: 11 of 40
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/make-ethical-calls-about-ai/deontology-when-rules-come-before-outcomes
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Deontology: when rules come before outcomes

Lesson 11 of 40 in **Make ethical calls about AI** (PHIL 110), unit "Ethical frameworks". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Apply deontological reasoning to the Clearview AI case by identifying the rights violated and duties breached, independent of crime-solving outcomes.
- Use the inquiring murderer case ('Kant's axe') to test the limits of rule-based reasoning, and state whether the deontological verdict holds or needs qualification.
- Identify a business action that consequentialism would permit but deontology prohibits, and articulate the deontological reason without referring to outcomes.

## Teaching notes
Case: Clearview AI — scraped 3 billion public photos from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Venmo without consent to build a facial recognition database sold to law enforcement. The case tests deontological reasoning: was this wrong regardless of its crime-solving outcomes? Which rights were violated, and whose duty was it to protect them?

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 11 complete: Deontology: when rules come before outcomes."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Virtue ethics: who you are as a professional" (lesson 12 of 40), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/make-ethical-calls-about-ai/virtue-ethics-who-you-are-as-a-professional.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Consequentialism: outcomes and trade-offs
Next lesson: Virtue ethics: who you are as a professional