Towards an Ethics of Interspecies and Artificial Sentient Consent: A Phenomenological & Relational Framework

This white paper proposes a novel ethical scaffold for understanding and operationalizing consent across interspecies and artificial sentient contexts, drawing on phenomenology, relational ontology, and interdisciplinary ethics. Building upon contemporary debates in bioethics, animal rights, and AI ethics, the paper critiques the limitations of human-centric consent frameworks and offers a relational, situated alternative grounded in embodied lived experience. We explore applications to animal care, veterinary practices, and the design of artificial general intelligence systems, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary dialogue that transcends disciplinary silos. The work is submitted as an open, public-facing document to invite commentary, critique, and engagement from scholars, practitioners, ethicists, technologists, and the wider community.