{"title":"Artificial agency and the game of semantic extension","authors":"Fabio Fossa","doi":"10.1080/03080188.2020.1868684","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Artificial agents are commonly described by using words that traditionally belong to the semantic field of life. I call this phenomenon the game of semantic extension. However, the semantic extension of words as crucial as ‘autonomous’, ‘intelligent’, ‘creative’, ‘moral’, and so on, is often perceived as unsatisfactory, which is signalled with the extensive use of inverted commas or other syntactical cues. Such practice, in turn, has provoked harsh criticism that usually refers back to the literal meaning of the words to show their inappropriateness in describing artificial agents. Hence the question: how can we choose our words appropriately and wisely while making sense of artificial agents? This paper tries to answer by sketching the main features of the game of semantic extension in relation to artificial agency, reviewing the related opportunities and risks, and advancing some practical suggestions on how to play the game well.","PeriodicalId":50352,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinary Science Reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Interdisciplinary Science Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"103","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03080188.2020.1868684","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
ABSTRACT Artificial agents are commonly described by using words that traditionally belong to the semantic field of life. I call this phenomenon the game of semantic extension. However, the semantic extension of words as crucial as ‘autonomous’, ‘intelligent’, ‘creative’, ‘moral’, and so on, is often perceived as unsatisfactory, which is signalled with the extensive use of inverted commas or other syntactical cues. Such practice, in turn, has provoked harsh criticism that usually refers back to the literal meaning of the words to show their inappropriateness in describing artificial agents. Hence the question: how can we choose our words appropriately and wisely while making sense of artificial agents? This paper tries to answer by sketching the main features of the game of semantic extension in relation to artificial agency, reviewing the related opportunities and risks, and advancing some practical suggestions on how to play the game well.
期刊介绍:
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews is a quarterly journal that aims to explore the social, philosophical and historical interrelations of the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, medicine and technology with the social sciences, humanities and arts.