AG Heinzelmann, 13.12.2024 A Method for Philosophy: AI Philosophy

On the background of the general problem of philosophical methodology, we identify a new tool for the philosophical toolbox: AI. We propose that not only can AI learn from philosophy, but philosophy can learn from AI, too: It is both ways. This applies particularly to conceptual analysis, which can be advanced by asking what would be required for an AI system to fall under the concept we are discussing; call this “AI Philosophy”. This method would allow progress in the philosophy of AI, rather than mere application, and in general philosophy it avoids anthropocentrism, and gives us access to a testable environment for our philosophical argumentation. Given the wide range of features we can consider for AI systems, this method allows us to cover a wide range of philosophical issues, especially in the philosophy of mind, language, epistemology, and ethics.

Vincent C. Müller

Dr. Vincent C. Müller is the Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of AI at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, and the President of the European Association for Cognitive Systems. He studied at the universities of Marburg, Hamburg, London, and Oxford. Dr. Müller has held prestigious fellowships, including the Stanley J. Seeger Fellowship at Princeton University and the James Martin Research Fellowship at the University of Oxford. Before his current role, he was a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology.

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