Dung L (2025)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2025
Book Volume: 75
Pages Range: 450-472
Journal Issue: 2
DOI: 10.1093/pq/pqae010
Which artificial intelligence (AI) systems are agents? To answer this question, I propose a multidimensional account of agency. According to this account, a system's agency profile is jointly determined by its level of goal-directedness and autonomy as well as is abilities for directly impacting the surrounding world, long-term planning and acting for reasons. Rooted in extant theories of agency, this account enables fine-grained, nuanced comparative characterizations of artificial agency. I show that this account has multiple important virtues and is more informative than alternatives. More speculatively, it may help to illuminate two important emerging questions in AI ethics: 1. Can agency contribute to the moral status of non-human beings, and how? 2. When and why might AI systems exhibit power-seeking behaviour and does this pose an existential risk to humanity?.
APA:
Dung, L. (2025). Understanding Artificial Agency. Philosophical Quarterly, 75(2), 450-472. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqae010
MLA:
Dung, Leonard. "Understanding Artificial Agency." Philosophical Quarterly 75.2 (2025): 450-472.
BibTeX: Download