Our weekly Seminar Series welcomes Karina Vold, philosopher of cognitive science, technology, and artificial intelligence, assistant professor at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto, and Schwartz Reisman faculty fellow in 2020-21. In this seminar, Vold will present a paper co-authored with José Hernández-Orallo.
Talk Title
“AI extenders: The ethical and societal implications of humans cognitively extended by AI”
Abstract
Humans and AI systems are usually portrayed as separate systems that we need to align in values and goals. However, there is a great deal of AI technology found in non-autonomous systems that are used as cognitive tools by humans. Under the extended mind thesis, the functional contributions of these tools become as essential to our cognition as our brains. But AI can take cognitive extension towards totally new capabilities, posing new philosophical, ethical and technical challenges. To analyse these challenges better, we define and place AI extenders in a continuum between fully externalized systems, loosely coupled with humans, and fully internalized processes, with operations ultimately performed by the brain, making the tool redundant. We dissect the landscape of cognitive capabilities that can foreseeably be extended by AI and examine their ethical implications. We suggest that cognitive extenders using AI be treated as distinct from other cognitive enhancers by all relevant stakeholders, including developers, policy makers, and human users.
Recommended reading
J. Hernández-Orallo and K. Vold. “AI Extenders: The Ethical and Societal Implications of Humans Cognitively Extended by AI.” Proceedings of the 2019 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES '19). Association for Computing Machinery, NY. pp. 507–513.
K. Vold and J. Hernández-Orallo. “AI Extenders and the Ethics of Mental Health.” In M. Ienca and F. Jotterand (eds.), Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Brain and Mental Health (forthcoming).
K. Vold. “Are ‘you’ just inside your skin or is your smartphone part of you?” Aeon, February 28, 2018.
A. Clark and D. Chalmers. “The Extended Mind.” Analysis. 58 (1): 7–19. DOI: 10.1093/analys/58.1.7.
About Karina Vold
Karina Vold works at the intersection of Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Applied Ethics. She is an assistant professor at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto, and Schwartz Reisman Institute faculty fellow in 2020-21. She received her B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Toronto and her Ph.D. in Philosophy from McGill University. Before joining the IHPST, she worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.
In her recent work, Vold has written on the implications of theories of extended cognition, on responsible innovation in online therapy, and on the capabilities and risks of AI. Her current projects include researching the effects of AI on human cognition and autonomy, understanding the harms arising from targeted online ‘nudging’, evaluating arguments for existential threats from AI, and building frameworks for the ethical design of AI systems.
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 45 minutes of discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link approximately one hour before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Karina Vold