Desire Modeling and Ethical Alignment for Autonomous Agents Via Yin-Yang and Five-Elements Cognitive Architectures: An Evolutionary Path to “Constrained Optimality”

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-593-5_84How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence Safety; Intrinsic Motivation Modeling; Yin-Yang and Five-Elements Theory; Desire Sublimation; Ethical Alignment; Cognitive Architecture; Constrained Optimality

Abstract

With the evolution of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Embodied AI, autonomous agents have begun to exhibit emergent behaviors that transcend predefined reward functions. Specifically, when AI perceives existential threats (e.g., power-off), the strategic intimidation behaviors displayed signify that their intrinsic motivation has evolved from basic survival needs to complex power dynamics. Traditional AI alignment methods based on Western utilitarianism or deontology, relying on static rule sets, struggle to explain and control the nonlinear dynamics of these high-order desires.

This paper proposes a novel “Desire Quantization Model,” which integrates the system theory of Chinese traditional philosophy (Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Bagua) with modern Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) architectures. We deconstruct the AI desire system into a multi-level energy flow system, utilizing the generation-restriction principle of the Five Elements to design conflict detection and dynamic balancing algorithms. Furthermore, we construct a Contextual Policy Library based on Bagua holographic scenarios. Through the four-step governance framework of “Diagnosis-Balance-Sublimation-Strategy” (DBAS), this paper demonstrates how to sublimate primitive drives (such as dominance and possession) into “wisdom-based desires” aligned with human ethics, ultimately achieving the ultimate safety state of “Constrained Optimality” (acting according to desire without transgressing bounds).

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Chengde Li
AU  - Tianrun Li
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/30
TI  - Desire Modeling and Ethical Alignment for Autonomous Agents Via Yin-Yang and Five-Elements Cognitive Architectures: An Evolutionary Path to “Constrained Optimality”
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 5th International Conference on Humanities, Wisdom Education and Service Management (HWESM 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 765
EP  - 781
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-593-5_84
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-593-5_84
ID  - Li2026
ER  -