Floridi Research Articles

Reflections on the essay “The Green and the Blue – A New Political Ontology for a Mature Information Society” by Luciano Floridi

Reflections on the essay “The Green and the Blue – A New Political Ontology for a Mature Information Society” by Luciano Floridi

Il pensiero come relazione o intero semantico? Intorno alla filosofia di Luciano Floridi

In Pensare l’infosfera La filosofia come design concettuale, Luciano Floridi states the value of a correct analysis and philosophical responses within the information age we are living in. The aim of this paper is to suggest several ideas for reflecting on some of Floridi’s topics such as the analysis of presence, relationship and semantization. In the second paragraph, after a brief introduction about the author, I will analyse philosophical insights on the relationship between being and determination. In the third paragraph, I am going to suggest the importance of a correct analysis of presence. In the fourth paragraph, a possible analogy between the philosophy of information and a certain form of neo-idealism will be shown. At last, I try to show how the philosophy of information can play a key role in the way we think about reality, but also its possible conceptual risks.

The information society: cause for a philosophical paradigm shift? A response to Luciano Floridi

Die Zeitschrift versammelt Philosophen und Wissenschaftler um ein breitgefächertes, anspruchsvolles Forschungsprogramm. In streng ausgewählten Beiträgen werden philosophische Abhandlungen aus theoretischen und praktischen Bereichen vorgelegt sowie historische Analysen und Entdeckungen mitgeteilt. Kritische Berichte und Diskussionen bieten einen Überblick über die Tendenzen der philosophischen Entwicklung. Wichtige philosophische Neuerscheinungen werden in Buchbesprechungen vorgestellt; daneben tritt die ausführliche, kritisch-weiterführende Rezension.

Artificial intelligence and social responsibility: the case of the artificial intelligence strategies in the United States, Russia, and China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review and analyze how the development and utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for social responsibility are defined in the national AI strategies of the USA, Russia and China.Design/methodology/approachThe notion of responsibility concerning AI is currently not legally defined by any country in the world. The authors of this research are going to use the methodology, based on Luciano Floridi’s Unified framework of five principles for AI in society, to determine how social responsibility is implemented in the AI strategies of the USA, Russia and China.FindingsAll three strategies for the development of AI in the USA, Russia and China, as evaluated in the paper, contain some or other components aimed at achieving public responsibility and responsible use of AI. The Unified framework of five principles for AI in society, developed by L. Floridi, can be used as a viable assessment tool to determine at least in general terms how social responsibility is implied and implemented in national strategic documents in the field of AI. However, authors of the paper call for further development in the field of mutually recognizable ethical models for socially beneficial AI.Practical implicationsThis study allows us to better understand the linkages, overlaps and differences between modern philosophy of information, AI-ethics, social responsibility and government regulation. The analysis provided in this paper can serve as a basic blueprint for future attempts to define how social responsibility is understood and implied by government decision-makers.Originality/valueThe analysis provided in the paper, however general and empirical it may be, is a first-time example of how the Unified framework of five principles for AI in society can be applied as an assessment tool to determine social responsibility in AI-related official documents.

Myth and technology: Finding philosophy’s role in technological change

Abstract In this paper, I argue that philosophy’s potential to influence technological change is impeded by the presence of two common and influential myths surrounding technology—the myth of progress and the myth of technological determinism. Such myths, I suggest, hinder philosophy’s influence by presenting a distorted image of technology—respectively, as an unqualified good, and as an entity with its own autonomous logic. Steven Pinker and Martin Heidegger are selected as influential advocates for progress and technological determinism respectively, and their work is explored in turn. The work of John Gray and of Herbert Marcuse is then employed to demythologise technology by articulating an alternative image of technology that is not just more accurate, but also more conducive to philosophical influence. Finally, the work of Hans Jonas and Luciano Floridi is used to ground the conclusion that, should philosophy wish to influence technological change, an effective method of doing so could be the articulation of ethical maxims and the supervision of their translation into a real world setting.

Luciano Floridi and contemporary art practice

ABSTRACT This article examines how the thinking of Luciano Floridi, especially his emphasis on information, could affect the way we approach art practice. It aims to situate art practice in relation to contemporary informational theories and suggests that the way we view contemporary art practice needs to move beyond existing theories. Key components to Floridi’s philosophy are introduced with relevance to art practice, followed by an analysis of these concepts with examples from the history of art. It is hoped that, by clarifying some of the more complex terms and concepts, readers will form a better understanding of the connections and potential synergy between art practice and the sciences of information, through the philosophy of Floridi.

AI Ethics: how can information ethics provide a framework to avoid usual conceptual pitfalls? An Overview

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an important role in current discussions on information and communication technologies (ICT) and new modes of algorithmic governance. It is an unavoidable dimension of what social mediations and modes of reproduction of our information societies will be in the future. While several works in artificial intelligence ethics (AIE) address ethical issues specific to certain areas of expertise, these ethical reflections often remain confined to narrow areas of application, without considering the global ethical issues in which they are embedded. We, therefore, propose to clarify the main approaches to AIE, their philosophical assumptions and the specific characteristics of each one of them, to identify the most promising approach to develop an ethical reflection on the deployment of AI in our societies, which is the one based on information ethics as proposed by Luciano Floridi. We will identify the most important features of that approach to highlight areas that need further investigation.

Luciano Floridi, "The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design."

Luciano Floridi, "The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design."

The Epistemic Threat of Deepfakes.

Deepfakes are realistic videos created using new machine learning techniques rather than traditional photographic means. They tend to depict people saying and doing things that they did not actually say or do. In the news media and the blogosphere, the worry has been raised that, as a result of deepfakes, we are heading toward an “infopocalypse” where we cannot tell what is real from what is not. Several philosophers (e.g., Deborah Johnson, Luciano Floridi, Regina Rini) have now issued similar warnings. In this paper, I offer an analysis of why deepfakes are such a serious threat to knowledge. Utilizing the account of information carrying recently developed by Brian Skyrms (2010), I argue that deepfakes reduce the amount of information that videos carry to viewers. I conclude by drawing some implications of this analysis for addressing the epistemic threat of deepfakes.

Metafísica da informação em um quadro referencial tridimensional

O objetivo deste estudo é expandir um dos assuntos que desenvolvi em minha pesquisa doutoral e apontar desenvolvimentos que ampliem o valor filosófico do tópico. A tarefa consiste em pavimentar o terreno para a construção de uma teoria metafísica tridimensional, centrada no conceito de informação. A primeira dimensão desta teoria é uma epistemologia informacional baseada nos levels of abstraction de Floridi. A segunda dimensão (semântico-pragmática) é baseada na filosofia da linguagem de Brandom e a terceira dimensão é baseada na ontologia de processo de Seibt. O resultado é um quadro referencial teórico metafísico versátil e dinâmico, que procura manter a eficiência do modelo metafísico clássico de propriedade-ente-substância, dotado de um núcleo metafísico da ontologia de processo. A tarefa de exposição desta teoria Floridi-Brandom-Seibt se divide em quatro etapas. Na primeira, darei uma definição geral de informação. Na segunda, definirei informação pragmática a partir do arcabouço conceitual elaborado por Robert Brandom. Estas duas etapas resultam de uma pesquisa parcialmente elaborada em minha tese. As duas etapas seguintes são um conjunto de reflexões que, até o momento, considero relevantes e profícuas possibilidades de desenvolvimento. A terceira etapa da exposição segue Luciano Floridi e propõe o deslocamento do conceito de informação como um produto de ações, desenvolvido na etapa anterior, para o papel de categoria central que constituirá a composição e compreensão do próprio mundo povoado por ações, entidades, eventos e processos. A quarta e última etapa desta reflexão procura vislumbrar o deus ex maquina da visão informacional de Floridi, revelando uma ontologia de processos como substrato último, de onde deve emergir o conceito de informação como tentativa de discretizar o continuum dos processos que perfaz a realidade.

Moral agency without responsibility? Analysis of three ethical models of human-computer interaction in times of artificial intelligence (AI)

Philosophical and sociological approaches in technology have increasingly shifted toward describing AI (artificial intelligence) systems as ‘(moral) agents,’ while also attributing ‘agency’ to them. It is only in this way – so their principal argument goes – that the effects of technological components in a complex human-computer interaction can be understood sufficiently in phenomenological-descriptive and ethical-normative respects. By contrast, this article aims to demonstrate that an explanatory model only achieves a descriptively and normatively satisfactory result if the concepts of ‘(moral) agent’ and ‘(moral) agency’ are exclusively related to human agents. Initially, the division between symbolic and sub-symbolic AI, the black box character of (deep) machine learning, and the complex relationship network in the provision and application of machine learning are outlined. Next, the ontological and action-theoretical basic assumptions of an ‘agency’ attribution regarding both the current teleology-naturalism debate and the explanatory model of actor network theory are examined. On this basis, the technical-philosophical approaches of Luciano Floridi, Deborah G. Johnson, and Peter-Paul Verbeek will all be critically discussed. Despite their different approaches, they tend to fully integrate computational behavior into their concept of ‘(moral) agency.’ By contrast, this essay recommends distinguishing conceptually between the different entities, causalities, and relationships in a human-computer interaction, arguing that this is the only way to do justice to both human responsibility and the moral significance and causality of computational behavior.

Uniwersytet podczas informacyjnego tsunami

Luciano Floridi and Nick Srnicek claims that with a decline in manufacturing profitability, capitalism has turned to data as one way to maintain economic growth in the face of a slow production sector. In the twenty-first century data have become central to firms and their relations with workers and customers (Floridi, 2013; Srnicek 2017). The platform has emerged as a new model, capable of extracting and controlling immense amounts of data, and with this shift we have seen the rise of monopolistic firms. We are told that today we are living in an age of massive transformation. Platforms, big data, additive manufacturing, advanced robotics, machine learning, and the internet of things – create our current living environment. In the presented text I am going to ask what is the place of the university in such a new digital constellation? What are universities for in the time of platform capitalism? My main line of reasoning follows to idea of “entrepreneurial state”. An innovative university is understood as an analogue of an “entrepreneurial state”. Mariana Mazzucato has convincingly demonstrated that developments like railways, the internet, computing, supersonic flight, space travel, satellites, pharmaceuticals, voice-recognition software, nanotechnology, touchscreensand clean energy have all been nurtured and guided by states, not corporations. During the golden postwar era of research and development, two-thirds of research and development was publicly funded. High-risk inventions and new technologies are too risky for private capitalists to invest in (Mazzucato, 2014; Srnicek, Williams, 2015). Socializing of the risk and privatization of profits – this is the main climate of “non-innovative capitalism”.

“The dearest of our possessions”: Applying Floridi's information privacy concept in models of information behavior and information literacy

AbstractThis conceptual article argues for the value of an approach to privacy in the digital information environment informed by Luciano Floridi's philosophy of information and information ethics. This approach involves achieving informational privacy, through the features of anonymity and obscurity, through an optimal balance of ontological frictions. This approach may be used to modify models for information behavior and for information literacy, giving them a fuller and more effective coverage of privacy issues in the infosphere. For information behavior, the Information Seeking and Communication Model and the Information Grounds conception are most appropriate for this purpose. For information literacy, the metaliteracy model, using a modification a privacy literacy framework, is most suitable.

AI and Its New Winter: from Myths to Realities

The prospect of another AI winter means we must think deeply and extensively on what we are doing and planning with AI, argues Luciano Floridi.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES: SOCIAL EPISTEMOLOGY OR PHILOSOPHY OF INFORMATION?

This article reviews the shift in the theoretical foundations of library and information science (LIS) on social epistemology to the philosophy of information. This shift bids have been submitted more than a decade ago where Luciano Floridi sees that the LIS has close relations with the philosophy of information. Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutics Phenomenology used to understand and interpret Jesse Shera and Luciano Floridi’s texts and to reveal the implicit and hidden meanings in the text. This reading indicates that the LIS is a discipline that not only deals with knowledge alone but rather takes care of the content that we understand as meaningful data. With that also, we understand the information not only as a matter of semantic and regarded as an epistemic prerequisite for the establishment of knowledge. However, beyond that, the information is placed as the ontological. Meaning of information, then, becomes important for LIS to place in the appropriate position. The foundation on the philosophy of information can break the chain of LIS dependence on another field theory and develop his theory. Therefore, this foundation does not only contribute praxis to produce solutions to technical problems that are commonly done regarding the improvement and development of library services. Although, this foundation can provide a 'new' space for scientists in this field to expand its epistemic motion.

Information and design: book symposium on Luciano Floridi’s The Logic of Information

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS).Design/methodology/approachNine scholars with research interests in philosophy and LIS read and responded to the book, raising critical and heuristic questions in the spirit of scholarly dialogue. Floridi responded to these questions.FindingsFloridi’s PI, including this latest publication, is of interest to LIS scholars, and much insight can be gained by exploring this connection. It seems also that LIS has the potential to contribute to PI’s further development in some respects.Research limitations/implicationsFloridi’s PI work is technical philosophy for which many LIS scholars do not have the training or patience to engage with, yet doing so is rewarding. This suggests a role for translational work between philosophy and LIS.Originality/valueThe book symposium format, not yet seen in LIS, provides forum for sustained, multifaceted and generative dialogue around ideas.

Information and Design: Book Symposium on Luciano Floridi’s the Logic of Information

The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest installment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS).

Ethical Conundrums and Virtual Humans

This paper explores ethical conundrums and virtual humans through building upon a post-Kantian framework, and one emerging from what is known as New Materialism. It begins by presenting the recent research and literature on virtual humans and suggesting that the central ethical conundrums that need to be examined are those of agency and values. The paper then argues that a combination of Luciano Floridi’s approach and one developed from New Materialism, namely modest ethics, offers a means of engaging with the ethical conundrums of virtual humans. It is argued that as yet there is little evidence for a democratic design process for virtual humans nor is there evidence about the possible impact virtual humans may have on a postdigital society. The paper concludes by suggesting that there need to be more open processes for debate which bring to light the values that are being built into these profound developments by the experts and focuses on using a modest ethics approach.

Material deceptions and the qualities of time

Material deceptions and the qualities of time

The Concepts of Philosophy of Information by Luciano Floridi

The Concepts of Philosophy of Information by Luciano Floridi