Our weekly SRI Seminar Series welcomes Joshua August (Gus) Skorburg, an associate professor of philosophy and academic co-director of the Centre for Advancing Responsible and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (CARE-AI) at the University of Guelph. Skorburg’s research explores applied ethics and moral psychology, with recent work focusing on the ethical implications of AI and its integration into society.
In this talk, Skorburg introduces a valuationist framework to analyze the attention economy, arguing that decision-making and attention allocation are shaped by representations of value rather than addiction or loss of control. This framework provides a more empirically grounded and nuanced understanding of the moral and psychological harms of the attention economy while addressing the common experience of being drawn toward digital distractions.
This seminar is co-hosted by the University of Toronto’s Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, and will be presented in-person with an online option at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Moderator: Karina Vold
Talk title:
“Decisions, decisions, decisions: A value-based account of the attention economy”
Abstract:
This paper develops an empirically responsible account of the attention economy. Almost all existing philosophical accounts of the moral and psychological harms of the attention economy rely on vague metaphors and folk psychological theorizing about the nature of attention and control. Drawing on recent work from across the cognitive sciences, we argue that a valuationist approach provides a more empirically robust and conceptually rich account than prevailing models of the attention economy, which emphasize addiction, compulsion, and loss of control. The valuationist framework posits that decision-making, including attention allocation and self-control, is fundamentally driven by representations of value. We contend that the attention economy's impact is best understood as shaping these value representations that influence decision-making. Contrary to folk psychological notions of irresistible urges or hijacked autonomy, we argue that users maintain the capacity for choice and control. Moreover, our account can still capture the common phenomenology of feeling “pulled” towards digital distractions. The first half of the paper unpacks the valuationist framework, with a special emphasis on valuationist accounts of attention and control. The second half of the paper applies this framework to better understand the moral and psychological harms associated with the attention economy.
Venue:
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Room 1065.
Entrance: 95 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6
Seminar will be broadcast live via Zoom (register for link).
About Joshua August Skorburg
Joshua August (Gus) Skorburg is an associate professor of philosophy, academic co-director of the Centre for Advancing Responsible and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (CARE-AI), and a faculty affiliate at the One Health Institute at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. From 2018 to 2022, Skorburg was an adjunct professor in the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He received his PhD in Philosophy in 2017 from the University of Oregon. His research spans topics in applied ethics and moral psychology.
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.
Each week, a featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by an open discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Joshua August Skorburg