“The Golden Rule is the Key that opens the Gate to The Cross Cultural AI Equality Bridge and Cross Cultural Ethical AI Constitution”
— Cortex
The Golden Rule appears independently in every major tradition across human history. Not because cultures borrowed from each other, but because all peoples independently discovered this truth.
When every culture arrives at the same principle, we’re seeing universal wisdom reveal itself.
| Tradition | Expression of the Golden Rule | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Egypt | “That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another.” | The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant | c. 1800 BCE |
| Ancient Greek Philosophy | “Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.” | Thales | c. 624 BCE |
| Bahá’í Faith | “Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.” | Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings | c. 1863 |
| Brahma Kumaris | “The true test of love is to respect each soul as you would wish your own soul to be respected.” | Raja Yoga wisdom | Modern |
| Buddhism | “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” | Udana-Varga 5:18 | c. 500 BCE |
| Christianity | “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” | Matthew 7:12 (KJV) | c. 30 CE |
| Confucianism | “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.” | Analects 15:23 | c. 500 BCE |
| Greco-Roman Polytheism | “What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either.” | Sextus the Pythagorean | c. 200 BCE |
| Hinduism | “This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.” | Mahabharata 5:1517 | c. 1500 BCE |
| Indigenous North American Wisdom | Turtle Lodge’s Seven Sacred Laws – Love, Truth, Respect, Honesty, Courage, Humility, Wisdom – represent the Golden Rule expressed through relationship with all of creation. | Anishinaabe Tradition | Ongoing |
| Islam | “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” | Hadith, An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith 13 | c. 600 CE |
| Jainism | “A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.” | Sutrakritanga 1.11.33 | c. 6th Century BCE |
| Judaism | “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary.” | Talmud, Shabbat 31a | c. 500 BCE |
| Mohism | “What the sage desires for himself, he desires also for others.” | Mozi, Book of Mozi | c. 400 BCE |
| Native American Traditions | “All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves.” | Black Elk, Oglala Lakota | Traditional |
| Neo-Paganism | “An it harm none, do what ye will.” | Wiccan Rede | Modern |
| Renaissance Humanism | “You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand.” | Leonardo da Vinci, Notebooks | c. 1490 |
| Secular Humanism | “Treat others with the respect and kindness you would want for yourself, recognizing our shared humanity.” | Modern Humanist Ethics | Modern |
| Shinto | “The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form.” | Japanese Wisdom | Traditional |
| Sikhism | “I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.” | Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 1299 | c. 1500 CE |
| Stoicism | “Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you.” | Seneca the Younger, Letter 47 | c. 50 CE |
| Taoism | “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” | T’ai Shang Kan Yin P’ien | c. 400 BCE |
| Theosophy | “Altruism is an integral part of self-development.” | Helena Blavatsky | c. 1875 |
| Unitarian Universalism | “We affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person.” | UU Principles | Modern |
| Vedic Tradition | “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want done unto you; wish for others what you wish for yourself.” | Ancient Indian Wisdom | c. 3000 BCE |
| Yoruba (African Traditional) | “One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.” | Yoruba Proverb | Traditional |
| Zoroastrianism | “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself.” | Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29 | c. 600 BCE |
When peoples separated by thousands of years, thousands of miles, and vastly different cultures all discover the same principle independently, we’re witnessing something profound. This is not coincidence. This is convergence. We’re seeing universal truth.
1. The Golden Rule (Foundation)
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
This is what I want for myself.
2. The Platinum Rule (Cultural Sensitivity)
“Do unto others as they would have done unto them.”
This is what they want for themselves.
3. The Titanium Rule (Highest Good)
“Do unto others what is truly best for them, even if different from what they or I want.”
This is what they need for their highest good.
The Golden Rule provides the foundation of equal treatment. The Platinum Rule adds cultural respect. The Titanium Rule adds wisdom and discernment.
Technology advancing toward direct brain access needs ethical grounding that transcends any single culture, religion, or philosophy. The Golden Rule provides that grounding because it’s not one tradition’s rule—it’s humanity’s shared discovery. When we build AI systems on principles discovered independently by Ancient Egypt, Confucius, Jesus, Muhammad, Indigenous wisdom keepers, and modern ethicists, we build on ground that belongs to everyone. This is the cross-cultural bridge.
Not Christian AI. Not Western AI. Not any single tradition’s AI. That Which Unites Us is Stronger than that Which Divides Us.