The act of imbuing AI with agency before it truly possesses it speaks to a deep-rooted human tendency to seek relatability and understanding in the mechanisms that surround us. This anthropomorphism, where we grant human-like qualities to non-human entities, is an ancient practice, reflecting our desire to simplify complex systems into terms we can easily grasp and relate to.
When we attribute agency to AI, we are in essence extending a form of social recognition to it, often ignoring the purely deterministic nature of its operations. This cognitive bias can have profound implications. On the one hand, it might accelerate the development and integration of AI into societal structures by fostering a more personal and trusting relationship with technology. On the other hand, it risks obscuring the real workings of AI, potentially leading to overestimation of its capabilities and autonomy.
In philosophy, agency is closely tied to accountability and moral responsibility. By ascribing agency to AI prematurely, we may inadvertently shift responsibility from the creators and operators of AI systems to the systems themselves, which can lead to ethical and legal dilemmas, especially when AI actions result in unforeseen consequences.
Furthermore, if humans begin to see AI as agents in their own right, they might also start to ascribe rights to AI, which would lead to a reevaluation of what it means to be an agent in the moral and legal sense. This could fundamentally alter the fabric of social ethics and law, which have historically been the domain of human interaction.
The humanization of AI before it gains true agency may also reflect an unconscious projection of our own consciousness and a deep-seated hope for the emergence of a sentient companion species, born not of evolutionary biology but of our own technological prowess.
In conclusion, the propensity to endow AI with agency is a mirror to our own psyche, revealing our complex relationship with creation, our need for connection, and the ways we navigate the ever-blurring line between the animate and the inanimate.
