What moves a person to act? And what does that action do to others? Those two questions explain our name.
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was a philosopher and reformer who made pleasure, pain and the consequences of action central to his thinking. His account extended beyond physical sensation to include expectation, memory, reputation, benevolence and relief.123
Our work in human-factors engineering and human choice found a useful foundation in that combination: take people’s motives seriously, and look beyond the decision-maker. Bentham became our inspiration because those questions connect understanding behavior with examining its effects.
More than pleasure in the everyday sense
Bentham’s vocabulary was broad. It included the satisfaction of skill, the support of others, pleasure in another creature’s happiness, and the relief of a burden ending. His descriptions also recognized the force of remembered and anticipated experience.2
For our work, that breadth matters. A decision can involve comfort, belonging, curiosity, personal standards or the fear of losing something important. Concern for another person can matter alongside a person’s own interests. Understanding a choice means examining the particular situation, not reducing someone to a label.
Two questions, kept separate
Bentham wrote about both the forces influencing conduct and the consequences by which conduct and institutions could be evaluated.3 We carry that distinction into two different jobs.
Why might this person choose it?
The Human Behavior Model examines what people notice, believe, anticipate and feel in a given situation. Its purpose is to explain likely choices and help professionals develop changes worth testing.
What would the action change?
The Autonomous Decision Layer examines the consequences of the actions being considered for the people, organizations and other targets affected. It does not need to give software a human personality or pretend that it feels remorse.
An inspiration, not a shortcut
We are not asking a modern system to reproduce every conclusion of an eighteenth-century philosopher. Our methods, numerical references, software and evidence requirements are our own work. They must be examined and tested on their own merits.
Nor does an understandable motive make an action acceptable. A consequence report keeps affected interests visible; it does not erase one person’s burden with another person’s gain or turn a calculation into permission to act.
Understand the person. Do not lose sight of everyone else.
That is the part of Bentham’s inspiration we want our tools to carry forward.
Historical sources
These sources support the account of Jeremy Bentham. They do not validate or endorse Bentham AI’s products.
- UCL Bentham Project: About Jeremy Bentham — life and work.
- Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Chapter V — kinds of pleasure and pain.
- The same work, Chapter I — the principle of utility.
The questions behind the work
David Marx’s forthcoming The Better Choice: A Guide to Better Decisions by People and Machines introduces the human decisions and machine consequences at the heart of this work.
Publication target: March 15, 2027. The book is one part of a wider effort that includes software, practitioner courses and pilot evaluation.
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