On the Cognitive, Ethical, and Scientific Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence: Themes from Iacap 2016

This edited volume explores the intersection between philosophy and computing. It features work presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the International Association for Computing and Philosophy. The 23 contributions to this volume neatly represent a cross section of 40 papers, four keynote addresses, and eight symposia as they cut across six distinct research agendas.

The volume begins with foundational studies in computation and information, epistemology and philosophy of science, and logic. The contributions next examine research into computational aspects of cognition and philosophy of mind. This leads to a look at moral dimensions of man-machine interaction as well as issues of trust, privacy, and justice.

This multi-disciplinary or, better yet, a-disciplinary investigation reveals the fruitfulness of erasing distinctions among and boundaries between established academic disciplines. This should come as no surprise. The computational turn itself is a-disciplinary and no former discipline, whether scientific, artistic, or humanistic, has remained unchanged. Rigorous reflection on the nature of these changes opens the door to inquiry into the nature of the world, what constitutes our knowledge of it, and our understanding of our place in it. These investigations are only just beginning. The contributions to this volume make this clear: many encourage further research and end with open questions.

Matteo Vincenzo d'Alfonso is professor for History of Philosophy at the University of Ferrara. He works on German Idealism, mainly on the relationships between practical and theoretical reason in the philosphies of Kant, Fichte and Schopenhauer. Among his publications Vom Wissen zur Weisheit. Fichtes Wissenschaftslehre 2011, Rodopi, Amsterdam/New York 2005 and Schopenhauers Kollegnachschriften der Metaphysik- und Psychologievorlesungen E. G. Schulzes (Göttigen 1810-11), Ergon, Würzbürg 2009. 

Don Berkich is associate professor of philosophy at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and currently serves as president of the International Association for Computing and Philosophy. Inspired by the diverse interdisciplinary interests of his colleagues in IACAP, his research centers on artificial agency and computability and complexity constraints on cognition.