Zheleznov A. S.

№ 4, 2020

• Inevitable Third: Ethical and Political Aspects of Interactions with Artificial Agents

  Artificial agents i.e., man-made technical devices and software that are capable of taking meaningful actions and making independent decisions, permeate almost all spheres of human life today. Being new political actants, they transform the nature of human interactions, which gives rise to the problem of ethical and political regulation of their activities. Therefore, the appearance of such agents triggers a global philosophical reflection that goes beyond technical or practical issues and makes researchers return to the fundamental problems of ethics. The article identifies three main aspects that call for a philosophical understanding of the existence of artificial agents. First, artificial agents reveal the true contradiction between declared moral and political values and real social practices. Learning from the data on the assessments and conclusions that have already taken place, artificial agents make decisions that correspond to the prevailing behavioral patterns rather than the moral principles of their creators or consumers. Second, the specificity of the creation and functioning of artificial agents brings the problem of responsibility for their actions to the forefront, which, in turn, requires a new approach to the political regulation of the activities of not only developers, customers, and users, but also the agents themselves. Third, the current forms of the activity of artificial agents shift the traditional boundaries of the human and raise the question of redefining the humanitarian. Having carefully analyzed the selected aspects, the authors reveal their logic and outline the field for further discussion.

  DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-99-4-90-107

  Pages: 90-107