Volume 6 (2023) – The Promises and Perils of Artificial Intelligence

Science fiction authors have covered all ranges of opinions and possibilities regarding the development of artificially intelligent beings. Robots, supercomputers, cybermen, replicants, even overgrown space probes, these have been envisioned as mindless laborers, loyal sidekicks, menacing overlords, wise saviors, genocidal exterminators, sly impersonators, artificial friends, or as a new form of slave underclass. As we approach the technological capacity to create artifacts that may become performatively indistinguishable from human activity, philosophical questions about them become increasingly urgent, whether it be questions about their being (metaphysical and epistemological), or about their treatment and place in society (ethical and political). Should we think of artificially intelligent beings as objects, tools, servants, saviors, competitors, partners..?

Published: 2023-06-01 (June 1, 2023)