In discussions of the ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence (AI), a good starting point is: How is AI and AI-related technology similar to and different from related contexts and technology? It seems helpful not to attempt to start the debate on ethical and social implications of AI from scratch, but to refer and relate to already existing and sometimes longstanding debates and research. Two fields seem to be particularly useful here: The discussion of philosophical, ethical and social aspects of technology on the one hand, and the context of brain-related sciences, philosophy of mind, bioethics and neuroethics on the other hand. With this topical collection, we focus on the second approach, i.e. we think about ethical implications of AI and neurotechnology by thinking about and drawing upon similarities and differences between brains and computer technology, neuroscience, behavioral, and cognitive science and computer science, starting from concepts and conceptions used to describe characteristics of humans and non-human animals and reflecting on how these can be used in or transferred to AI.

No abstract

As commercial virtual assistants become an integrated part of almost every smart device that we use on a daily basis, including but not limited to smartphones, speakers, personal computers, watches, TVs, and TV sticks, there are pressing questions that call for the study of how participants perceive commercial virtual assistants and what relational roles they assign to them. Furthermore, it is crucial to study which characteristics of commercial virtual assistants (both existing ones and those envisioned for the future) are perceived as important for establishing affective interaction with commercial virtual assistants. By conducting 26 interviews and performing content analysis of the interview transcripts, this study investigates how the participants in the study perceive, engage, and interact with a variety of commercial virtual assistants. The results lead to better understanding of whether forms of attachment are established or if some sort of relationship is produced between humans and commercial virtual assistants. Key takeaways from our results indicate that, in their current state, the lack of humanlike characteristics in commercial virtual assistants prevents users from forming an emotional attachment to commercial virtual assistants, but this does not deter them from using anthropomorphic language to describe commercial virtual assistants. Yet, our results reveal that users expect commercial virtual assistants’ attributes to be more humanlike in the future.

No abstract