The rapid advancement of autonomous agentic systems (AAS) has revolutionized critical sectors such as healthcare, finance, defense, and cybersecurity. However, their integration into these domains raises significant ethical and security concerns, mainly when deployed within Zero Trust (ZT) frameworks, which assume no entity should be trusted by default. This paper explores the ethical governance of AAS within ZT frameworks, focusing on accountability, bias mitigation, and privacy protection. We examine the challenges posed by AAS, including decision-making accountability, inherited biases, and data privacy risks, and propose mitigation strategies such as explainable AI (XAI), human oversight, and privacy-preserving technologies. Additionally, we discuss the implementation of ZT principles, including continuous authentication, least privilege access, and network segmentation, and highlight the complexities of integrating AAS into these frameworks. The paper concludes with policy recommendations and future research directions, emphasizing the need for regulatory standards, ethical AI governance, and interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure the responsible deployment of AAS in ZT environments.
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