An artificial object is an object created by an agent, typically a human. Artificial objects are to be contrasted with natural objects, which just are those objects not created by agents. What is ‘artificial’ about artificial intelligence? Is a person…
At a minimum, a system is rational when it utilises good reasoning principles to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of reasonable evidence. Beyond this, a rational agent might also be required to have appropriate goals, to optimise satisfaction…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an artefact, created by a human agent, that is capable of behaviour we would view as intelligent if it were human. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is an AI whose intelligence is equal to or surpasses human intelligence in…
Someone, or something, is morally responsible for their actions, if they have sufficient knowledge of, and control over, their actions and potential outcomes, and might reasonably be the subject of, for instance, praise or blame for those actions. Are AI…
A bias is a systematic inclination in a particular–possibly unwanted–direction. Are AI systems biased? Key Points: Different disciplines have different definitions of the term ‘bias’ (for instance, in neural network architecture ‘bias’ refers to the learnable parameters added to an…
An intention is a motivational mental state, formed when an agent plans and decides how to act, which captures the way they commit to bring about a certain outcome. When an AI system produces intelligent outputs and has effects in…
Creativity is the disposition to produce outputs that are original and valuable. Do AI systems exhibit creativity in their art, music, and words? Key Points: AI systems can produce art, music, and words to a high aesthetic standard. Consider Sony…
Agency is the capacity to perform actions, where an action is something that one does, rather than something that merely happens. Are AI-systems agents, and why does it matter? Key Points: Actions are different from happenings. A rock rolling down a hill…
Benchmarking is the practice of evaluating the performance of hardware, software, or algorithms by running a series of tests and comparing the results against a set of predetermined standards or the performance of other systems. AI can pass a law…
Consciousness is a special form of awareness. Could AI systems be conscious and why should we care? Key Points: As AI systems produce increasingly human-like outputs, there has been a surge of interest in which such systems are conscious. That is,…