A human-centred approach to symbiotic AI: Questioning the ethical and conceptual foundation

Abstract

This paper advocates for a constructivist approach to symbiosis to restore human-centredness in the governance of Symbiotic Artificial Intelligence (SAI). Challenging rigid, deterministic foundational methods warns against the risk of divorcing ethics from mere adherence to moral principles. Instead, it calls for a shift towards a distributed, contextual, relational, and dialectical structure to embody human-centredness. Through an analysis of the SAI landscape and its interplay between social and technological factors, the paper argues for a reconceptualisation of theoretical foundation and human responsibility within the socio-technical perspective. Chapter 2 delves into foundational issues of SAI, questioning the application of biological categories and proposing patterns of SAI based on definitions of intelligent life. Chapter 3 explores the potential of a constructivist approach, emphasising flexibility and context awareness, and presents a framework for understanding and evaluating SAI systems, components of an evolving methodology.