Preface
Page: ii-iii (2)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010002
Introduction to the Problem of Artificial Intelligence
Page: 1-21 (21)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010003
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Abstract
Chapter 1 introduces the problem of artificial intelligence (AI) as a human
doppelgänger. The logic of artificial intelligence is the control algorithm, dominated by
the tradition of two-value logic. We sketch out the consequences of such algorithmic
performance, which have had deleterious effects on the ecological landscape in the
broad sense of the term. We also report the findings of an interdisciplinary report from
Stanford University on the successes and failures of AI. The chapter ends with a
discussion of the key findings of an interdisciplinary conference, sketching out the
correlates of understanding. These can best be summarized by answering the questions:
How do we determine if a system understands? Does a lack of understanding make AI
systems susceptible to adversarial examples, and to what degree do systems need to
understand in order to be able to explain their decisions and predictions? By what
mechanisms do humans extract meaning from data or experience?
Phenomenology and Empirical Research
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Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010004
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
This chapter provides the reader with the background necessary to
understanding the phenomenological perspective as it will be applied to artificial
intelligence in the chapters that follow. In doing so, we explain phenomenology’s
approach to empirical facts and logical reasoning, among other topics. We explain the
key importance of awareness as a starting point for phenomenological understanding,
as well as the key role that the “thing” plays in this philosophy. The importance of
language to awareness is described, and the concept of signification is addressed in
relation to the creation of meaning. This brings the discussion around the importance of
applying a concept of embodiment as well as that of the linguistic field. The chapter
concludes with a brief discussion of how these concepts relate to the theme of artificial
intelligence and its relationship to the lived world.
Communicative Competence: The Transcendental And Understanding
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Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010005
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
This chapter follows up on the central role of understanding in terms of the
need to understand methodologically and in practical life in order to achieve AI with
concrete limits. We cast this within the framework of communicative competence,
which requires both understanding as well as the reciprocal relationship of the
part–whole. Communicative competence sets out a criterion for our investigation and
identifies a key human experience—“How did we get into this situation?” —which
requires understanding, distancing from the situation, surveying the situation
historically, and trying to anticipate where we go next. This critical understanding
and/or critical reflexivity is needed, which is thoroughly phenomenological.
Transcendental Self-Awareness and Time
Page: 55-69 (15)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010006
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Chapter 4 further investigates the importance of time, and human awareness
of it, as that relates to artificial intelligence, apprehending time from a perspective that
emphasizes its similarities to any other “thing”. The chapter begins with a discussion of
the importance of a paradigm that prioritizes rational thought structures. Thus, the
discussion turns to questions of the "now" point, field awareness, and the nature of
causality, based on the philosophizing of Edmund Husserl. The issues of intentionality
and representationalism are addressed in relation to artificial intelligence as well as to
the self, the other, and social understanding in general.
The Magic of Reason: Wild Metaphysics
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Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010007
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Abstract
No doubt, instrumental reason seems to be well-suited to creating progress
in all areas, and it is regarded as beneficial to various peoples globally. But a question
of its attractiveness, despite all the negative consequences for the environment, rapid
transportation that can spread any virus, or displace people due to lost jobs, is not
answered. Resultantly, we must open another dimension of awareness which is as
ancient as human understanding of the world and the way we relate to it. In this
chapter, we address the ways in which magical structures (in the Gebserian sense)
pervade modern rational thought and serve as a basis for artificial intelligence. The
contemporary importance of the concept of identity is addressed, and its logic is
disclosed as it plays a fundamental role in forming the background of the magic of
reason, which we suggest is a needed correction to the idea of “instrumental reason”.
The magical aspects of modern society and metaphysics are explained with examples
taken from Christianity, the imagery popular among the Nazi movement, and even
modern sporting events. These concepts are then applied to the current movement
towards globalization.
Machine Logic and Values as a Self-Generating System
Page: 94-116 (23)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010008
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Abstract
Scientific practice, both in the broad sense and in the specific case of
computer science, cannot demonstrate how the constituted logic of a given consistent
system translates into an empirically constructed system without the assumption of
other conditions which may also be logically constituted through modes of praxis that
are already technically available. Computer science is premised on a technically laden
life-world and, indeed, on an interpretation of the entire environment as accessible to
technical management. In this sense, there is a pre-understanding that allows a given
population to regard both science and computer science as “value free”. Yet, it is
precisely the technologically interpreted environment that is imbedded in valuations. In
this chapter, we explicate: (a) the principles that establish scientific objectivity on the
basis of the objectivity of logics; (b) how those logics are connected to the resources of
the environment; (c) how the environment itself is technical and valuative; and (d) how
a particular modern value context pervades the technical, logical, and scientific
enterprises.
The Internet of Things and Temporal Reflex
Page: 117-145 (29)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010009
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Uncovering the temporal reflex of the Internet of Things within the
organizational environment affirms the transformational mode of our technological
life-world. We live in an atemporal reflex, which involves more than the combination
of past, present, and future, and more than the mere interconnectivity of a series of
nodes, but it is a self-pacing system, creating some possibilities which are unintended
consequences. The unintended consequences can be anticipated in what may be
foreseen as a type of foresight of what can be next. Such fore-knowledge allows risk
mitigation at all levels of society: organizational, interpersonal, cultural, and, of course,
civilizational. Temporal reflexivity is the link or hinge of human-machine co-operation
and complementarity.
Can I—Can You—Can We?
Page: 146-164 (19)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010010
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Chapter 8 aims to fully address the question: What is the mode of awareness
which frames the building of the pragmatic world, and what are its “passive”
transcendental conditions? As such, the discussion turns to the issues of the signitive
cosmos of space-time-movement, the practical domain, and the abstract versus the
concrete. The concepts of significance and understanding are brought to bear on a
discussion that relates perception and praxis to kinesthesis and embodiment, requiring
an exposition of the logic of analogy. This leads to an explanation of the importance of
the vital-kinesthetic, which has, up until now, been obscured by the primacy of
Cartesian dualism in Western thinking. The dualism appears between the postulation of
a “mind” as a thinking subject, and a body as a material mechanism, which functions as
a reaction to specific stimuli. There is no self-initiating movement, which would
explore the environment, have orientations or even any sense of what is forward or
backward, up or down, left or right. Yet, our kinesthetic body understands all these
orientations, and in fact, they become the coordinates of our practical world.
The Multi-Discursive Subject
Page: 165-184 (20)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010011
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Abstract
Starting from the premise that formal-mathematical modes of awareness are “discourses”, this chapter traces the connections between postmodernism, the rise of the instrumentalist mode of thinking that has enabled the creation of artificial intelligence, and the attack on the notion of identity, the combination of which tends to strip away the humanity from the modern “subject”, which is apprehended as “selfcreating” from this perspective. It then describes how nations and cultures are sucked into the all-encompassing technologization trap through the promise of better living through technology, reinforced by the trends of globalization, even if that means accepting the poison pill of dehumanization on an individual level. What follows is a discussion of “traditional” cultures which reject this ideology of self-creating subjects in favor of their traditional religious beliefs. We then discuss the value of transcendental subjectivity in opposition to both of the afore-mentioned ideologies, pointing to the ways that this mode of awareness embraces multiplicities and rejects the totalizing or encompassing mathematization of experience. The chapter concludes with an exposition of the importance of meaning-making—that is, the signitive—to all these modes of perception, and its actual foundation in transcendental subjectivity.
The Limits of Artificial Intelligence and the Public
Page: 185-205 (21)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010012
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Contrasting the phenomenological perspective with that presented by
Enlightenment thinking and its particular valuative structure, Chapter 10 delineates
some of the often-overlooked, negative effects of artificial intelligence on the general
populace. We review a variety of philosophical perspectives that treat the
underpinnings of Enlightenment thinking, leading to a discussion of the legitimation
crisis and its negative effects on democracy. The discussion then turns to a detailed
discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of apprehending time from a
phenomenological perspective as related to artificial intelligence. The final section of
the chapter is devoted to a critique of artificial intelligence, highlighting the
significance of instrumental reason and the notion of “progress”, and focusing on the
discursive power inherent in inventions that leverage AI.
Conditions For Public Decisions
Page: 206-226 (21)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010013
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Chapter 11 entertains the tensions between the development of future
artificial intelligence structures and the priorities of universal human rights, which
necessitate the founding of a public domain. We return to our discussion of the effects
of Enlightenment theorizing on the current situation, contrasting that with the
possibilities afforded by taking a phenomenological approach to the concept of human
rights. The limits of personal autonomy are discussed, and phenomenological concepts
that were explicated earlier in work are applied to this question of human rights, which
are discussed in conjunction with, as well as in opposition to, the effects of the
globalizing logic that advocates for the unfettered application of computer logic to all
aspects of life.
Radical Embodied Truths for Artificial Intelligence
Page: 227-247 (21)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010014
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Embodiment distinguishes between two bodies, which are the body regarded
as a physiological entity, and the phenomenal body, which is not just somebody, some
particular physiological entity, but my or your body as it is experienced. It is
understood as a phenomenal body. Nobody is an entity. Typically, one experiences
one’s body and potential capacity for doing this and that. Moreover, the sense that I
have my own body capacities is expressed in bodily confidence. It does not depend on
understanding the physiological process involved in performing the action in question.
The distinction between the objective and the phenomenal body is central to
understanding the logical treatment of embodiment. Embodiment is not a concept that
pertains to the body grasped as a physiological entity, but rather it pertains to the
phenomenal body in the role played in oriented experience. Fundamental to
embodiment is space/time/motion and its manifestation of circularity of AI research/AI
researched.
Subject Index
Page: 248-251 (4)
Author: Algis Mickunas and Joseph Pilotta
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123401123010015
Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is viewed as one of the technological advances that will reshape modern societies and their relations. While the design and deployment of systems that continually adapt hold the promise of far-reaching, positive change, they simultaneously pose significant risks, especially to already vulnerable people. This work explores the meaning of AI, and the important role of critical understanding and its phenomenological foundation in shaping its ongoing advances. The values, power, and magic of reason are central to this discussion. Critical theory has used historical hindsight to explain the patterns of power that shape our intellectual, political, economic, and social worlds, and the discourse on AI that surrounds these worlds. The authors also delve into niche topics in philosophy such as transcendental self-awareness, post-humanism, and concepts of space-time and computer logic. By embedding a critical phenomenological orientation within their technical practices, AI communities can develop foresight and tactics that can better align research and technology development with established ethical principles — centering vulnerable people who continue to bear the brunt of the negative impacts of innovation and scientific progress. The creation of a critical–technical practice of AI will lead to a permanent revolution in social, scientific, and political communities. The years ahead will usher in a wave of new scientific breakthroughs and technologies driven by AI research, making it incumbent upon AI communities to strengthen the social contract through ethical foresight, a capability which only phenomenology can deliver, ultimately supporting future technologies that enable greater well-being, with the goal of delivering practical truths. A Critical Understanding of Artificial Intelligence: A Phenomenological Foundation is an essential read for anyone interested in the complex debate and phenomenology surrounding AI and its growing role in our society.