|||GET||| Plato and the Nerd on Technology and Creativity 1St Edition

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

|||GET||| Plato and the Nerd on Technology and Creativity 1St Edition PLATO AND THE NERD ON TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVITY 1ST EDITION DOWNLOAD FREE Edward A Lee | 9780262036481 | | | | | Plato and the Nerd It is in this sense that engineers share an overall perspective on engineering design as an exercise in optimization. I am currently not in a position to thoroughly judge whether Lee would agree or disagree with my own take on this topic. The four causes are still very much present in modern discussions related to the metaphysics of artifacts. Loving attention to detail and deep familiarity with Plato's thought are evident on every page. We now turn to the description of some themes in the ethics of technology. One early theme is the thesis that technology learns from or imitates nature Plato, Laws X a ff. To our knowledge, humans are unique in nature in our reliance on and development of technology. An interesting general account has been presented by Dipert Kahn, Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition. This was also an important theme in the writings of Thomas Kuhn on theory change in science Kuhn According to him, some technologies are inherently normative in the sense that they require or are strongly compatible with certain social and political relations. In general it seems desirable to keep technological risks as small as possible. For instance, if a wooden bed is buried, it decomposes to earth or changes back into its botanical nature by putting forth a shoot. This book is important because it is high time for computer scientists and engineers to do the same. We can make definitive statements about modelsfrom which we can infer properties of system realizations. Technology today is like gut bacteria, in that we rely on it and it relies on us, but the relationship is hugely asymmetric. Another notion that is relevant here is means-ends reasoning. Both cultural and political approaches build on the traditional philosophy and ethics of technology of the Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition half of the twentieth century. It analyses this practice, its goals, its concepts and Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition methods, and it relates its findings to various themes from philosophy. August The Dialogues of Plato — B. But even if risk reduction is feasible it may not be acceptable from a moral point of view. The suggestion that is associated with this distinction, however, that rational scrutiny only applies in the context of justification, is difficult to uphold for technological design. The scholars studying ethical issues in technology have diverse backgrounds e. The cover image depicts an asymmetric cycle, a synergistic bootstrapping of unlike components. Hansson has proposed the following alternative principle for risk evaluation: Exposure of a person to a risk is acceptable if and only if this exposure is part of an equitable social system of risk-taking that works to her advantage. Top charts. A fourth point that deserves mentioning is the extensive employment of technological images by Plato and Aristotle. Why Political Science Classics Collection is so important? Search Advanced Search close Close. `Plato and the Nerd,' Part 1 A disadvantage of this strategy is that it tends to blur the morally relevant distinctions between people and technological artifacts. This positive attitude lasted well into the nineteenth century, incorporating the first half-century of the industrial revolution. Artifacts, on the other hand, cannot reproduce themselves. The Renaissance led to a greater appreciation of human beings and their creative efforts, including technology. If we will never achieve this goal, then neither can we guarantee that our software is completely secure. Durbin and Friedrich Rapp. Only humans have such a cycle. The new fields of ethical reflection are often characterized as applied ethics, that is, as applications of theories, normative standards, concepts and methods developed in moral philosophy. The safest car is, due to its weight, not likely to be the most sustainability. In them Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition cast his teacher Socrates as the central disputant in colloquies that brilliantly probe a vast spectrum of philosophical ideas and issues. What makes a risk un acceptable? However, one cannot create a particular kind of artifact just by designing something with the intention that it be used for some particular purpose: a member of the kind so created must actually be useful for that purpose. I want to find out whether Lee shares my inclination and realism, because being a lonely scholar only gets me so far. The reason is that the conditions for Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition proper attribution of individual responsibility that have been discussed in the philosophical literature like freedom to act, knowledge, and causality are often not met by individual engineers. Works of art result from an intention directed at their creation although in exceptional cases of conceptual art, this directedness may involve many intermediate steps but it is contested whether artists include in their intentions concerning their work an intention that the work serves some purpose. Pritchard and Michael J. The status of the remaining four categories is much less clear, however, partly because they are less familiar, or not at all, from the well- explored context of science. The study of technology, therefore, was not expected to pose new challenges nor hold surprises regarding the interests of analytic philosophy. Political approaches Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition technology mostly go back to Marx, who assumed that the material structure of production in society, in which technology is obviously a major factor, determined the economic and social structure of that society. Whereas cultural approaches conceive of technology as a cultural phenomenon that influences our perception of the world, political approaches conceive of technology as a political phenomenon, i. A candidate example of a technological fix for the problem of global warming would Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition the currently much debated option of injecting sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere to offset the warming effect of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. That's the best they can offer. In I interviewed Peter Naur at his home in Denmark. While the Aryans applied their Science of Correspondences to veil the most spiritual and sublime truths of nature, the Jews used their acumen to conceal the single most divine mystery of evolution, i. Van de Hoven, Vermaas, and van de Poel gives a good overview of the state-of-the art of value sensitive design for various values and application domains. The validity of this inference depends on model fidelitywhich is always approximate. A number of new or expanded footnotes are also included along with a Select Bibliography. A temporary divine incarnation is termed trance; if life-long, samadhi, when the mystic may at times quit his body. One is a move away from technological determinism and the assumption that technology is a given self-contained phenomenon which develops autonomously to an emphasis on technological development being the result of choices although not necessarily the intended result. Janos Sztipanovits E. I am currently not in a position to thoroughly judge whether Lee would agree or disagree with my own take on this topic. The second edition of Five Dialogues presents G. If you believe, as I do, that our human identity is as much cultural as biological, then most certainly technology is affecting our evolution. It analyses this practice, its goals, its concepts and its methods, and it relates its findings to various themes from philosophy. There are laws for software engineering that have yet to be widely disseminated and I consider the previous bold-faced passage to convey one such law. Great Dialogues of Plato. McGinn, Robert E. Clearly, humanities philosophy of technology has until now been more attracted by the instrumentality core whereas analytic philosophy of technology has mainly gone for the productivity core. Finally, for those of us who are highly skeptical about the Internet of Moving Things, it might be worth our while to examine Lee's seemingly optimistic account in this regard. Of these, the second is most obviously ethically relevant. To claim, with Skolimowski and Simon, that technology is about what is to be or what ought to be rather than what is may serve to distinguish it from science but will hardly make it understandable why so much philosophical reflection on technology has taken the form of socio-cultural critique. Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition don't mind having bugs in a text editor or an unmanned Mars Lander. One early theme is the thesis that technology learns from or imitates nature Plato, Laws X a ff. Plato, Proclus, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. In this, these philosophers are almost all openly critical of technology: all things considered, they tend to have a negative judgment of the way technology has affected human society and culture, or at least they single out for consideration the negative effects of technology on human society and culture. This collection was compiled as an aid to college and university students. Philosophy of Technology The larger Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition risk, the larger either the likeliness or the impact of an undesirable event is. A full discussion of this vast field is beyond the scope of this entry, however. But higher education is not enough. Theories of rational action generally conceive their problem situation as one involving a choice among various course of action open to the agent. Scharff, Robert C. To claim, with Skolimowski and Simon, that technology is Plato and the Nerd On Technology and Creativity 1st edition what is to be or what ought to be rather than what is may serve to distinguish it from science but will hardly make it understandable why so much philosophical reflection on technology has taken the form of socio-cultural critique.
Recommended publications
  • Christian Social Ethics
    How should the protection of privacy, threatened by new technologies like radio frequency identification (RFID), be seen from a Judeo-Christian perspective? A dissertation by Erwin Walter Schmidt submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Master of Theology in the subject Theological Ethics at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Supervisor: Prof Dr Puleng LenkaBula Co-supervisor: Dr Dr Volker Kessler November 2011 1 © 2012-11-10 UNISA, Erwin Walter Schmidt, student no. 4306-490-6 Summary Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a new technology which allows people to identify objects automatically but there is a suspicion that, if people are tracked, their privacy may be infringed. This raises questions about how far this technology is acceptable and how privacy should be protected. It is also initiated a discussion involving a wide range of technical, philosophical, political, social, cultural, and economical aspects. There is also a need to consider the ethical and theological perspectives. This dissertation takes all its relevant directions from a Judeo-Christian theological perspective. On one side the use of technology is considered, and on the other side the value of privacy, its infringements and protection are investigated. According to Jewish and Christian understanding human dignity has to be respected including the right to privacy. As a consequence of this RFID may only used for applications that do not infringe this right. This conclusion, however, is not limited to RFID; it will be relevant for other, future surveillance technologies as well. 2 © 2012-11-10 UNISA, Erwin Walter Schmidt, student no. 4306-490-6 Key terms: Radio frequency identification, privacy, human rights, right to privacy, technology, information and communication technology, privacy enhancing technology, Internet of Things, data protection, privacy impact assessment.
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism, Ethics, and Technology / 10 Pragmatism, Ethics, and Technology Hans Radder Free University of Amsterdam
    Techné 7:3 Spring 2004 Radder, Pragmatism, Ethics, and Technology / 10 Pragmatism, Ethics, and Technology Hans Radder Free University of Amsterdam Pragmatist Ethics for a Technological Culture presents a variety of essays on a significant and timely issue. The plan of the book is thoughtful. It comprises nine major chapters, each followed by a brief commentary. The volume is divided into four parts: technology and ethics, the status of pragmatism, pragmatism and practices, and discourse ethics and deliberative democracy. In addition, the introductory and concluding chapters by the editors help to connect the various contributions. Moreover, these chapters sketch an interesting programmatic approach for dealing with the ethical problems of our technological culture. The only complaint one might have about the book's composition is the lack of a subject and name index. In this essay, I will not present the usual summary review but instead offer some reflections on the three main concepts of the book (pragmatism, ethics and technology) and on the way these concepts have been explained, employed and related in the various contributions. My overall conclusion is that, although much can be learned from the book, it also falls short in some respects. The most important problem is that, appearances notwithstanding, the full significance of technology for our ethical problems is not being appropriately acknowledged. Pragmatism Let me start with a preliminary issue. As do most of the authors, I think that it is appropriate to speak of a pragmatist, instead of a merely pragmatic, approach to ethics. As I see it, a pragmatist approach requires the commitment to engage in discursive explanation and argumentation, while a pragmatic approach suggests that these more theoretical activities may be omitted.
    [Show full text]
  • Ordinary Technoethics
    Ordinary Technoethics MICHEL PUECH Philosophy, Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris, France Email: [email protected] Web site: http://michel.puech.free.fr ABSTRACT From recent philosophy of technology emerges the need for an ethical assessment of the ordinary use of technological devices, in particular telephones, computers, and all kind of digital artifacts. The usual method of academic ethics, which is a top-down deduction starting with metaethics and ending in applied ethics, appears to be largely unproductive for this task. It provides “ideal” advice, that is to say formal and often sterile. As in the opposition between “ordinary language” philosophy and “ideal language” philosophy, the ordinary requires attention and an ethical investigation of the complex and pervasive use of everyday technological devices. Some examples indicate how a bottom-up reinvention of the ethics of technology can help in numerous techno-philosophical predicaments, including ethical sustainability. downloaded on http://michel.puech.free.fr 1/21 This paper resists “Ideal Technoethics”, which is implicit in mainstream academic applied ethics approaches and is currently favored by the bureaucratic implementation of ethics in public and private affairs. Instead, some trends in philosophy of technology emphasize the importance of ordinary technologically- laden behaviors. If we take this approach one step further, it leads to ordinary technoethics. In my take on ordinary technology, values are construed differently, starting from the importance of the ordinary use of technology (humble devices and focal1 familiar practices). The primacy of use in the history of the Internet provides a paradigm for the ordinary empowerment of users. What are the ethical consequences of this empowerment, and how is the average human being today equipped to address them in the innumerable micro-actions of ordinary life? Technoethics Technoethics as a research and practice field is situated in between philosophy of technology and applied ethics.
    [Show full text]
  • New Perspectives on Technology, Values, and Ethics Theoretical and Practical Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science
    Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science 315 Wenceslao J. Gonzalez Editor New Perspectives on Technology, Values, and Ethics Theoretical and Practical Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science Volume 315 Series editors Alisa Bokulich, Department of Philosophy, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA Robert S. Cohen, Boston University, Watertown, MA, USA Jürgen Renn, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany Kostas Gavroglu, University of Athens, Athens, Greece The series Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science was conceived in the broadest framework of interdisciplinary and international concerns. Natural scientists, mathematicians, social scientists and philosophers have contributed to the series, as have historians and sociologists of science, linguists, psychologists, physicians, and literary critics. The series has been able to include works by authors from many other countries around the world. The editors believe that the history and philosophy of science should itself be scientifi c, self-consciously critical, humane as well as rational, sceptical and undogmatic while also receptive to discussion of fi rst principles. One of the aims of Boston Studies, therefore, is to develop collaboration among scientists, historians and philosophers. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science looks into and refl ects on interactions between epistemological and historical dimensions in an effort to understand the scientifi c enterprise from every viewpoint. More information
    [Show full text]
  • The Technological Mediation of Morality
    The Technological Mediation of Morality of Technological Mediation The In this dissertation, Olya Kudina investigates the complex interactions between ethics and technology. Center stage to this is the phenomenon of “value dynamism” that explores how technologies co-shape the meaning of values that guide us through our lives and with which we evaluate these same technologies. The dissertation provides an encompassing view on value dynamism and the mediating role of technologies in it through empirical and philosophical investigations, as well as with attention to the larger fields of ethics, design and Technology Assessment. THE TECHNOLOGICAL MEDIATION OF MORALITY: Olya Kudina Olya VALUE DYNAMISM, AND THE COMPLEX INTERACTION BETWEEN ETHICS AND TECHNOLOGY University of Twente 2019 Olya Kudina THE TECHNOLOGICAL MEDIATION OF MORALITY VALUE DYNAMISM, AND THE COMPLEX INTERACTION BETWEEN ETHICS AND TECHNOLOGY Olya Kudina THE TECHNOLOGICAL MEDIATION OF MORALITY VALUE DYNAMISM, AND THE COMPLEX INTERACTION BETWEEN ETHICS AND TECHNOLOGY DISSERTATION to obtain the degree of doctor at the University of Twente, on the authority of the rector magnificus, prof.dr. T.T.M. Palstra, on account of the decision of the Doctorate Board, to be publicly defended on Friday the 17th of May 2019 at 14:45 hours by Olga Kudina born on the 11th of January 1990 in Vinnytsia, Ukraine This dissertation has been approved by: Graduation Committee Supervisor: Chairman/secretary Prof. dr. Th.A.J. Toonen University of Twente Supervisor Prof. dr. ir. P.P.C.C. Verbeek University of Twente Prof. dr. ir. P.P.C.C. Verbeek Co-supervisor Dr. M. Nagenborg University of Twente Co-supervisor: Committee Members Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethics and the Systemic Character of Modern Technology
    PHIL & TECH 3:4 Summer 1998 Strijbos, Ethics and System/19 ETHICS AND THE SYSTEMIC CHARACTER OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY Sytse Strijbos, Free University, Amsterdam A distinguishing feature of today’s world is that technology has built the house in which humanity lives. More and more, our lives are lived within the confines of its walls. Yet this implies that technology entails far more than the material artifacts surrounding us. Technology is no longer simply a matter of objects in the hands of individuals; it has become a very complex system in which our everyday lives are embedded. The systemic character of modern technology confronts us with relatively new questions and dimensions of human responsibility. Hence this paper points out the need for exploring systems ethics as a new field of ethics essential for managing our technological world and for transforming it into a sane and healthy habitat for human life. Special attention is devoted to the introduction of information technology, which will continue unabated into coming decades and which is already changing our whole world of technology. Key words: technological system, systems ethics, social constructivism, technological determinism, information technology. 1. INTRODUCTION A burning question for our time concerns responsibility for technology. Through technological intervention, people have succeeded in virtually eliminating a variety of natural threats. At least that is true for the prosperous part of the world, although here too the forces of nature can unexpectedly smash through the safety barriers of a technological society, as in the case of the Kobe earthquake (1995). The greatest threat to technological societies appears to arise, however, from within.
    [Show full text]
  • A?£?-SE-6/3 Lllllllllllilllllii SE0608416
    A?£?-SE-6/3 lllllllllllilllllii SE0608416 Ethics of Risk Kristin Shrader-Frechette's Philosophical Critique of Risk Assessment Topi Heikkerö Centre for Social Ethics University of Helsinki Helsinki FINLAND Email: [email protected] Abstract This paper addresses risk assessment from a philosophical point of view. It presents and critically reviews the work of Kristin Shrader-Frechette. It introduces the ethical, epistemological, and methodological issues related to risk assessment. The paper focuses on the ethical questions of justice in risk decisions. It opens by framing the relationship between ethics and technology in modern world. Then the paper turns to a brief description of risk assessment as a central method in technological decision making. It proceeds to show how Shrader-Frechette analyzes ethical and political aspects of risk assessment. The central argumentation in her critique follows Rawlsian lines: distributive and participatory inequalities in creating technological constructions need to be justified. To clarify this requirement she formulates the Principle of Prima Facie Political Equity (PPFPE), which is her central tool in most of her ethical criticism, for instance, in relation to the future generations: prima facie, all generations should be treated equally. Brief critical remarks conclude the paper. They touch upon placing Shrader-Frechette's project on the academic chart and her liberal individualist anthropology. Key words Ethics of technology, environmental justice, risk assessment, Kristin Shrader-Frechette. Introduction Technological advance is seldom achieved without expenses. Pollution, draining earth from resources, accidents, noise, and loss of pristine environments, for example, constitute the costs our societies pay for the well-being that is gained through applications of technological systems and devices.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Philosophy of Technology Author(S): Hans Jonas Source: the Hastings Center Report, Vol
    Toward a Philosophy of Technology Author(s): Hans Jonas Source: The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Feb., 1979), pp. 34-43 Published by: The Hastings Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3561700 . Accessed: 26/10/2011 18:53 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Hastings Center is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Hastings Center Report. http://www.jstor.org KNOWLEDGE,POWER & THE BIOLOGICALREVOLUTION Toward a Philosophy of Technology by HANS JONAS the world furnishedwith them looks. A third, overarching themeis the moralside of technologyas a burdenon human A re there philosophicalaspects to technology?Of responsibility,especially its long-termeffects on the global course there are, as there are to all things of importancein conditionof man and environment.This-my own mainpre- humanendeavor and destiny.Modern technology touches on occupation over the past years-will only be touched upon. almost everythingvital to man's existence-material, men- tal, and spiritual.Indeed, what of man is not involved?The I. The FormalDynamics of Technology way he lives his life and looks at objects,his intercoursewith the worldand with his peers,his powersand modes of action, First some observationsabout technology'sform as an kinds of goals, states and changesof society, objectivesand abstractwhole of movement.We are concernedwith char- forms of politics (includingwarfare no less than welfare), acteristicsof moderntechnology and thereforeask firstwhat the sense and qualityof life, even man'sfate and that of his distinguishesit formallyfrom all previoustechnology.
    [Show full text]
  • Artificial Intelligence: from Ethics to Policy
    Artificial intelligence: From ethics to policy STUDY Panel for the Future of Science and Technology EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA) PE 641.507 – June 2020 EN Artificial intelligence: From ethics to policy There is little doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will revolutionise public services. However, the power for positive change that AI provides simultaneously holds the potential for negative impacts on society. AI ethics work to uncover the variety of ethical issues resulting from the design, development, and deployment of AI. The question at the centre of all current work in AI ethics is: How can we move from AI ethics to specific policy and legislation for governing AI? Based on a framing of 'AI as a social experiment', this study arrives at policy options for public administrations and governmental organisations who are looking to deploy AI/ML solutions, as well as the private companies who are creating AI/ML solutions for use in the public arena. The reasons for targeting this application sector concern: the need for a high standard of transparency, respect for democratic values, and legitimacy. The policy options presented here chart a path towards accountability; procedures and decisions of an ethical nature are systematically logged prior to the deployment of an AI system. This logging is the first step in allowing ethics to play a crucial role in the implementation of AI for the public good. STOA | Panel for the Future of Science and Technology AUTHORS This study has been written by Dr Aimee van Wynsberghe of Delft University of Technology and co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics at the request of the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) and managed by the Scientific Foresight Unit, within the Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) of the Secretariat of the European Parliament.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a Social Ethics of Technology: a Research Prospect Richard Devon the Pennsylvania State University
    Techné 8:1 Fall 2004 Devon, Social Ethics of Technology / 99 Towards a Social Ethics of Technology: A Research Prospect Richard Devon The Pennsylvania State University Introduction Most approaches to ethics focus on individual behavior. In this paper, a different approach is advocated, that of social ethics, which is offered as a complement to individual ethics. To some extent, this is an exercise in renaming some current activities, but it is also intended to clarify what is a distinct and valuable ethical approach that can be developed much further than it is at present. What is described here as social ethics is certainly practiced, but it is not usually treated as a subject for philosophical inquiry. Social ethics is taken here to be the ethical study of the options available to us in the social arrangements for decision-making (Devon 1999; see also a follow-on article to the present one, Devon and Van de Poel 2004). Such arrangements involve those for two or more people to perform social functions such as those pertaining to security, transportation, communication, reproduction and child rearing, education, and so forth. In technology, social ethics can mean studying anything from legislation to project management. Different arrangements have different ethical tradeoffs; hence the importance of the subject. An illustration of social ethics is provided by the case of abortion (a technology). The opponents of abortion take a principled position and argue that abortion is taking a life and therefore that it is wrong. The opponents of abortion believe all people should be opposed and have little interest in variations in decision making practices.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethics of Emerging Technology
    Ethics of Emerging Technology Philip Brey This is a pre-print of the following book chapter: Brey, P. (2017). Ethics of Emerging Technologies. In S. O. Hansson (Ed.), Methods for the Ethics of Technology. Rowman and Littlefield International. This chapter surveys ethical approaches to emerging technology. In recent years, emerging technologies have become a major topic of study in the ethics of technology, which has increasingly focused its attention on early-stage intervention in technology development. A number of specific approaches and methods have now been developed for the field, which in many ways is still in its infancy. The main problem for the ethics of emerging technology is the problem of uncertainty (Sollie, 2007): how to deal with the uncertainty of future products, uses and consequences, and associated ethical issues that will result from an emerging technology. Several approaches to the ethics of emerging technology will be reviewed that deal with this problem in different ways. Special attention will be paid to anticipatory approaches, which combine foresight analysis with ethical analysis. These approaches will be assessed and critically compared to alternative ethical approaches to emerging technology. What is ethics of emerging technology? A proper understanding of the ethics of emerging technology presupposes a proper understanding of what emerging technologies are. Emerging technologies are technologies that are new, innovative, and still in development, and are expected to have a large socioeconomic impact. They are new in the sense that they employ new concepts, methods and techniques and cannot be subsumed under existing technologies. They are innovative in the sense that they promise new and potentially superior solutions to problems.
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism for a Digital Society: the (In)Significance of Artificial Intelligence and Neural Technology
    [preprint (pre-review and editorial changes) - to cite, please first refer to published version: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64590-8_7 ] Pragmatism for a Digital Society: The (In)Significance of Artificial Intelligence and Neural Technology Matthew Sample1,2 and Eric Racine1-4 1. Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal 2. Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University 3. Department of Experimental Medicine (Biomedical Ethics Unit), McGill University 4. Department of Medicine and Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal Abstract Headlines in 2019 are inundated with claims about the “digital society,” making sweeping assertions of societal benefits and dangers caused by range of technologies. This situation would seem an ideal motivation for ethics research, and indeed much research on this topic is published, with more every day. However, ethics researchers may feel a sense of déjà vu, as they recall decades of other heavily promoted technological platforms, from genomics and nanotechnology to machine learning. How should ethics researchers respond to the waves of rhetoric and accompanying ethics research? What makes the digital society significant for ethics research? In this paper, we consider two examples of digital technologies (artificial intelligence and neural technologies), showing the pattern of societal and academic resources dedicated to them. This pattern, we argue, reveals the jointly sociological and ethical character of significance attributed to emerging technologies. By attending to insights from pragmatism and science and technology studies, ethics researchers can better understand how these features of significance effect their work and adjust their methods accordingly. In short, we argue that the significance driving ethics research should be grounded in public engagement, critical analysis of technology’s “vanguard visions”, and in a personal attitude of reflexivity.
    [Show full text]