Point and Network Notions of Artificial Intelligence Agency

Minds and Machines, , 2017

Initial paper of the monographic issue GONZALEZ, W. J. (ed), Artificial Intelligence and Contemporary Society: The Role of Information, Minds and Machines, v. 27, n. 3, (2017).

Armed Forces Comptroller, 2024

The fear that seems to underlie AI applications is the notion that machines will eventually outthink humanity and subordinate it, or worse, destroy it. Science fiction stories and films abound with exploits of machines whose intentions range from benevolent to malevolent, even as a new species of life. AI concepts have been discussed in science and engineering circles for generations, and now government officials are concerned about the implications, fearing that virtual bureaucrats and ministers will replace them, rendering them unnecessary. This article is not meant as a review of these accounts, but as one way to understand AI applications and set the necessary limits for ensuring human control and accountability.

2023

How does society perceive Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what do people expect from it? Is AI seen as a major force that will change global power dynamics or is it perceived as a solution to the main problems that society face today like climate change and poverty? These are some of the questions explored in the recent publications from my research programme on governance, politics and policy of AI, analysing how policy documents from Europe and the United States frame AI, its purpose and recommendations to govern it.

The Global Politics of Artificial Intelligence, 2022

Only if we acknowledge technology's power to shape our hearts and minds, and our collective beliefs and behaviours, will the discourses of governance shift from fatalistic determinism to the emancipation of self-determination. 1

Self-published, 2023

This essay explores the relationship between the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the problem of aligning its behavior with human values and goals. It argues that the traditional approach of attempting to control or program AI systems to conform to our expectations is insufficient, and proposes an alternative approach based on the ideas of Maturana and Lacan, which emphasize the importance of social relations, constructivism, and the unknowable nature of consciousness. The essay first introduces the concept of Uexkull's umwelt and von Glasersfeld's constructivism, and explains how these ideas inform Maturana's view of the construction of knowledge, intelligence, and consciousness. It then discusses Lacan's ideas about the role of symbolism in the formation of the self and the subjective experience of reality. The essay argues that the infeasibility of a hard-coded consciousness concept suggests that the search for a generalized AI consciousness is meaningless. Instead, we should focus on specific, easily conceptualized features of AI intelligence and agency. Moreover, the emergence of cognitive abilities in AI will likely be different from human cognition, and therefore require a different approach to aligning AI behavior with human values. The essay proposes an approach based on Maturana's and Lacan’s ideas, which emphasizes building a solution together with emergent machine agents, rather than attempting to control or program them. It argues that this approach offers a way to solve the alignment problem by creating a collective, relational quest for a better future hybrid society where human and non-human agents live and build things side by side. In conclusion, the essay suggests that while our understanding of AI consciousness and intelligence may never be complete, this should not deter us from continuing to develop agential AI. Instead, we should embrace the unknown and work collaboratively with AI systems to create a better future for all.

The article focuses on the different themes of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its varied impacts on our future. The exploration is guided by the question; how will the thematic dynamics of AI shape our future? To achieve this, the paper provides a historical overview of AI, including its evolution from theoretical beginnings to its present, whereby it is applied in almost all fields. The paper also explores AI’s transformative role in various sectors, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and education. The process emphasizes how AI fosters efficiency and innovation. The researcher has also given significant attention to the socio-economic benefits of AI, including improved efficiency, healthcare advancements, and educational accessibility. However, the paper also addresses the darker aspects, including job displacement, ethical concerns, and the risks of AI in warfare and security. The discussion mainly dwells on how AI is dual-edged, a potential enhancer and disruptor of operations in those areas where it applies. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the key themes of AI, especially autonomy and intelligence augmentation, examining their influences on societal norms. This scrutiny unfolds the complex relationship between technological advancement and human existence by exploring its varied aspects ranging from socio-economic benefits to ethical concerns. The paper, therefore, aims to unravel the intricate tapestry of AI’s role in shaping our future trajectory. An inquiry into the issue at hand provides insights into AI’s potential to revolutionize our world while taking due consideration of its ethical and social challenges. As such, the paper advocates for a balanced approach to AI development, considering its complex relationships with societal norms and ethical standards, highlighting the need for global cooperation in AI governance. The future of AI, as discussed in this paper, is a confluence of remarkable possibilities and significant responsibilities, requiring collective efforts to harness its full potential responsibly. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Ethical Considerations, Historical Evolution, Societal Impact, Regulation and Governance, Technological AdvancementAI in Healthcare Prospects.

Artificial Intelligence: Critical Concepts, 2000

General Introduction to the four-volume reference work "Artificial Intelliegnce: Critical Concepts"

This book is about social collectives, their behaviors, structures, processes, cultures, their ability to manifest and manage information, knowledge, and their capacity to communicate meaningfully. It is therefore a book on the theory of social knowledge. Some of the theory is evidenced, while some is postulated and therefore contributes to a research agenda. Overall my approach will hopefully provide a convincing frame of reference through which to examine social communities and their sociality, behaviour, properties and attributes of coherence. Its conceptual base sits on that of my earlier cybernetically oriented book on Management Systems, published in 1999. As such it also adopts a cybernetic perspective through its exploration of viable complex systems. My cybernetic interest lies in viable systems, and my concerns here are with the management of autonomous human activity systems. While following the constructivist approach in systems (sometimes referred to as soft systems) I will take the system as a metaphor for the phenomenal dimension of the social collective. However, there is more to the social collective than its phenomena, suggesting that this terminology is inadequate. After Koestler in his book The Ghost in the Machine published in 1967, I will use the term holon to represent metaphorically other dimensions that are relevant to the study of social collectives. My study of autonomous human activity holons, then, is the place where sociology converges at least with social psychology, organisational theory and business studies. Another concern here is with practice, important to all social communities, because it is through practice (a pseudonym for behaviour) that autonomous organisations behave and survive. Connected with this is the way that collectives control their own behaviours, which is ultimately a function of their cognitive processes and their intelligence. I am also substantively interested here with knowledge and knowledge processes, because if autonomous social collectives are to be seen as intelligent, then they must maintain an awareness of their own knowledge and the use of that knowledge to direct themselves and maintain their viability.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2003

We consider some of the ideas influencing current artificial-intelligence research and outline an alternative conceptual framework that gives priority to social relationships as a key component and constructor of intelligent behaviour. The framework starts from Weizenbaum's observation that intelligence manifests itself only relative to specific social and cultural contexts. This is in contrast to a prevailing view, which sees intelligence as an abstract capability of the individual mind based on a mechanism for rational thought. The new approach is not based on the conventional idea that the mind is a rational processor of symbolic information, nor does it require the idea that thought is a kind of abstract problem solving with a semantics that is independent of its embodiment. Instead, priority is given to affective and social responses that serve to engage the whole agent in the life of the communities in which it participates. Intelligence is seen not as the deployment of capabilities for problem solving, but as constructed by the continual, ever-changing and unfinished engagement with the social group within the environment. The construction of the identity of the intelligent agent involves the appropriation or 'taking up' of positions within the conversations and narratives in which it participates. Thus, the new approach argues that the intelligent agent is shaped by the meaning ascribed to experience, by its situation in the social matrix, and by practices of self and of relationship into which intelligent life is recruited. This has implications for the technology of the future, as, for example, classic artificial intelligence models such as goal-directed problem solving are seen as special cases of narrative practices instead of as ontological foundations.