Who is a robot? A fundamental model of artificial identity

Abstract

Though some matters of consensus have begun to crystallize, scholars in human-robot interaction have thus far reasoned about artificial identity under many different definitions. Many of these seemingly disparate perspectives may, however, be unified into one coherent model through a synthesis of contemporary scientific and Buddhist philosophy of identity. Under this model, artificial and human identity are modeled equivalently under an assumption that there is no "immutable essence" which constitutes an agent's identity, but rather that identity may be defined as the sum of overlapping aggregates subject to change through time. The model reckons with the idea that much of what is conceived of as identity may be arbitrarily ascribed, artificial boundaries, but that these boundaries often constitute substantial social and psychological realities. This thinking is congruent with contemporary philosophical perspectives across disciplines from biology to cognitive science. The model may serve as a useful tool for roboticists to reason about identity in complex, dynamic situations, and provide a firm foundation for work which utilizes artificial identity. The model may even offer one or two possible answers to the question: Who is a robot? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.