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1 results

  • 7 - Why a Commitment to Pluralism Should Limit How Humanity Is Re-Engineered

  • from Part III - Humanity
  • Edited by Kevin Werbach
  • Book:
    After the Digital Tornado
    Published online:
    24 August 2020
    Print publication:
    23 July 2020, pp 155-173
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  • Summary

    Networked digital systems are engaged in no less than the re-engineering of humanity. While the narrative of artificial intelligence for many decades has been about computers becoming more like people, the reverse is also occurring: People are effectively being turned into machines. Promoting human flourishing means allowing for different conceptions of the good life. That means pushing back on the reductionist systems that private companies engineer for their own interests, and respecting the right to turn off. Robert Nozick’s classic thought experiment of a machine that can simulate any experiences, and a modern-day variant, can help test our ethical intuitions about the consequences of re-engineering humanity. What ultimately differentiates humans and machines is that we can and do make choices that diverge from simple optimization functions. The benefits of networking, automation, and new services that digital connectivity provides should not come at the price of our deepest values.