Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, abbreviated as AI, is the subfield of Computer Science devoted to developing programs that enable computers to display behavior that can (broadly) be characterised as intelligent. According to its strong version, its ultimate goal should be to create an artificial system that is as intelligent as a human being. Recent striking success such as AlphaGo have indeed made the public believe that not only this objective is possible, but that in a not so far future machines could be even more intelligent than human beings.

The actual and possible developments of artificial intelligence open up a series of striking questions such as:

• Can really a computer think in the way a human being does?
• Is the human brain and mind a computer?
• Can a computer have a mind and conscious experiences, such as thoughts, desires, and emotions?
• What is artificial intelligence? Is it the same as human intelligence? Are they even comparable or are they something essentially different?
• Can a machine be morally responsible for its actions? Can a machine be good or evil? What other moral considerations are related to AI?