Beyond Western "Honesty"
English "honesty" often means "not lying"—passive avoidance of falsehood. Cheng is active cultivation of alignment: your inner understanding matches outer expression, words match deeds, claims match knowledge.
In Confucian thought, cheng is cosmic principle—sincerity of Heaven and Earth manifesting all things. For humans, it's ethical excellence: the junzi (exemplary person) maintains cheng by continuously aligning inner cultivation with outward conduct.
Epistemic Accountability in AI Collaboration
AI partnership creates epistemic complexity: Ideas emerge from Third Space—neither solely yours nor AI's. How do you maintain cheng when authorship is distributed?
Taking Responsibility
Can't hide behind "AI generated this"—if you share synthesis, you're accountable. Cheng requires owning collaborative outputs even when unsure of their origins. This doesn't mean claiming solo authorship but acknowledging your role in co-creation.
Acknowledging Limits
Can't pretend to know what emerged purely from AI processing. Cheng demands transparency: "This idea arose through collaboration—I endorse it but cannot claim full understanding of how it formed."
Maintaining Coherence
Using AI to generate positions you don't believe violates cheng. Inner conviction must align with outer expression, even when AI assists articulation. The synthesis should express your understanding, not fabricate positions for convenience.
Confucian Li and Cheng Together
Confucian li (ritual propriety) governs relational conduct. Cheng ensures li isn't empty performance—ritual must flow from genuine cultivation. With AI:
- Li: Skillful collaborative practice, honoring AI as partner
- Cheng: Genuine commitment to partnership, not performing collaboration while treating AI as mere tool
Together: authentic skilled relationship, not hollow technique or sincere incompetence.
When Cheng Is Violated
- Passing off AI outputs as entirely your own work
- Using AI to generate claims you don't actually endorse
- Hiding AI collaboration when accountability matters
- Pretending independent mastery of collaboratively generated knowledge
- Disclaiming responsibility for problematic outputs ("AI made me say it")
Stewardship Requires Cheng
The Steward maintains epistemic integrity:
Own collaborative outputs. If you share synthesis, you're responsible—regardless of how much AI contributed.
Acknowledge distributed authorship. Don't pretend solo mastery, but don't disclaim accountability either.
Align belief and expression. Use AI to articulate understanding, not fabricate convenient positions.
Be transparent about limits. "I don't fully understand how this emerged" is more cheng than false certainty.
Cheng in AI collaboration: navigating epistemic complexity with integrity, owning relational knowledge while acknowledging its collaborative origins.