David J. Gunkel

The Machine Question - MIT Press 2021

An investigation into the assignment of moral responsibilities and rights to intelligent and autonomous machines of our own making.

One of the enduring concerns of moral philosophy is deciding who or what is deserving of ethical consideration. Much recent attention has been devoted to the "animal question"—consideration of the moral status of nonhuman animals. In this book, David Gunkel takes up the "machine question": whether and to what extent intelligent and autonomous machines of our own making can be considered to have legitimate moral responsibilities and any legitimate claim to moral consideration.

The machine question poses a fundamental challenge to moral thinking, questioning the traditional philosophical conceptualization of technology as a tool or instrument to be used by human agents. Gunkel begins by addressing the question of machine moral agency: whether a machine might be considered a legitimate moral agent that could be held responsible for decisions and actions. He then approaches the machine question from the other side, considering whether a machine might be a moral patient due legitimate moral consideration. Finally, Gunkel considers some recent innovations in moral philosophy and critical theory that complicate the machine question, deconstructing the binary agent–patient opposition itself.

Technological advances may prompt us to wonder if the science fiction of computers and robots whose actions affect their human companions (think of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey) could become science fact. Gunkel's argument promises to influence future considerations of ethics, ourselves, and the other entities who inhabit this world.

Robot Rights - MIT Press 2018

A provocative attempt to think about what was previously considered unthinkable: a serious philosophical case for the rights of robots.

We are in the midst of a robot invasion, as devices of different configurations and capabilities slowly but surely come to take up increasingly important positions in everyday social reality—self-driving vehicles, recommendation algorithms, machine learning decision making systems, and social robots of various forms and functions. Although considerable attention has already been devoted to the subject of robots and responsibility, the question concerning the social status of these artifacts has been largely overlooked. In this book, David Gunkel offers a provocative attempt to think about what has been previously regarded as unthinkable: whether and to what extent robots and other technological artifacts of our own making can and should have any claim to moral and legal standing.

In his analysis, Gunkel invokes the philosophical distinction (developed by David Hume) between “is” and “ought” in order to evaluate and analyze the different arguments regarding the question of robot rights. In the course of his examination, Gunkel finds that none of the existing positions or proposals hold up under scrutiny. In response to this, he then offers an innovative alternative proposal that effectively flips the script on the is/ought problem by introducing another, altogether different way to conceptualize the social situation of robots and the opportunities and challenges they present to existing moral and legal systems.

Person, Thing, Robot - MIT Press 2023

Why robots defy our existing moral and legal categories and how to revolutionize the way we think about the

Robots are a curious sort of thing. On the one hand, they are technological artifacts—and thus, things. On the other hand, they seem to have social presence, because they talk and interact with us, and simulate the capabilities commonly associated with personhood. In Person, Thing, Robot, David J. Gunkel sets out to answer the vexing question: What exactly is a robot? Rather than try to fit robots into the existing categories by way of arguing for either their reification or personification, however, Gunkel argues for a revolutionary reformulation of the entire system, developing a new moral and legal ontology for the twenty-first century and beyond.

In this book, Gunkel investigates how and why efforts to use existing categories to classify robots fail, argues that “robot” designates an irreducible anomaly in the existing ontology, and formulates an alternative that restructures the ontological order in both moral philosophy and law. Person, Thing, Robot not only addresses the issues that are relevant to students, teachers, and researchers working in the fields of moral philosophy, philosophy of technology, science and technology studies (STS), and AI/robot law and policy but it also speaks to controversies that are important to AI researchers, robotics engineers, and computer scientists concerned with the social consequences of their work.

Of Remixology - MIT Press 2016

A new theory of moral and aesthetic value for the age of remix, going beyond the usual debates over originality and appropriation.

Remix—or the practice of recombining preexisting content—has proliferated across media both digital and analog. Fans celebrate it as a revolutionary new creative practice; critics characterize it as a lazy and cheap (and often illegal) recycling of other people's work. In Of Remixology, David Gunkel argues that to understand remix, we need to change the terms of the debate. The two sides of the remix controversy, Gunkel contends, share certain underlying values—originality, innovation, artistic integrity. And each side seeks to protect these values from the threat that is represented by the other. In reevaluating these shared philosophical assumptions, Gunkel not only provides a new way to understand remix, he also offers an innovative theory of moral and aesthetic value for the twenty-first century.

In a section called “Premix,” Gunkel examines the terminology of remix (including “collage,” “sample,” “bootleg,” and “mashup”) and its material preconditions, the technology of recording. In “Remix,” he takes on the distinction between original and copy; makes a case for repetition; and considers the question of authorship in a world of seemingly endless recompiled and repurposed content. Finally, in “Postmix,” Gunkel outlines a new theory of moral and aesthetic value that can accommodate remix and its cultural significance, remixing—or reconfiguring and recombining—traditional philosophical approaches in the process.

Deconstruction - MIT Press 2021

An accessible introduction to a concept often considered impossibly abstruse, demonstrating its power as a conceptual tool in the twenty-first century.

This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers a clear and concise introduction to a topic often considered difficult and abstruse: deconstruction. David Gunkel sorts out the concept, terminology, and practices of deconstruction, not to defend academic orthodoxy, or to disseminate the thought of Jacques Derrida—the fabricator of the neologism and progenitor of the concept—but to provide readers with a powerful conceptual tool for the twenty-first century.

Gunkel explains that deconstruction is not simply the opposite of construction—the “deconstructed” jacket hanging in your closet is not, strictly speaking, accurately named—or synonymous with destruction. It is a way to think beyond the construction/destruction dichotomy and all other conceptual dichotomies and logical oppositions. After describing what deconstruction is not, and developing an abstract and schematic characterization derived from Derrida, Gunkel offers examples in (rather than of) deconstruction, including logocentrism (the speech/writing dichotomy) and virtuality (the ruling philosophical binary of real/appearance), remix (the original/copy distinction), and the posthuman figure of the cyborg (the human/machine conceptual pairing). Finally, Gunkel discusses the costs and benefits of deconstruction, considering the many things deconstruction is good for and identifying potential problems, including Eurocentrism, relativism, difficulties in communicating the concept, and reappropriation.

Gaming the System - Indiana University Press 2018

Gaming the System takes philosophical traditions out of the ivory tower and into the virtual worlds of video games. In this book, author David J. Gunkel explores how philosophical traditions—put forth by noted thinkers such as Plato, Descartes, Kant, Heidegger, and Žižek—can help us explore and conceptualize recent developments in video games, game studies, and virtual worlds. Furthermore, Gunkel interprets computer games as doing philosophy, arguing that the game world is a medium that provides opportunities to model and explore fundamental questions about the nature of reality, personal identity, social organization, and moral conduct.

By using games to investigate and innovate in the area of philosophical thinking, Gunkel shows how areas such as game governance and manufacturers' terms of service agreements actually grapple with the social contract and produce new postmodern forms of social organization that challenge existing modernist notions of politics and the nation state. In this critically engaging study, Gunkel considers virtual worlds and video games as more than just "fun and games," presenting them as sites for new and original thinking about some of the deepest questions concerning the human experience.

How to Survive a Robot Invasion - Routledge 2020

In this short introduction, David J. Gunkel examines the shifting world of artificial intelligence, mapping it onto everyday twenty-first century life and probing the consequences of this ever-growing industry and movement. The book investigates the significance and consequences of the robot invasion in an effort to map the increasingly complicated social terrain of the twenty-first century.

Whether we recognize it as such or not, we are in the midst of a robot invasion. What matters most in the face of this machine incursion is not resistance, but how we decide to make sense of and respond to the social opportunities and challenges that autonomous machines make available. How to Survive a Robot Invasion is a fascinating and accessible volume for students and researchers of new media, philosophy of technology, and their many related fields. It aims both to assist readers’ efforts to understand a changing world and to provide readers with the critical insight necessary for grappling with our science fiction-like future.

An Introduction to Communication and Artificial Intelligence - Polity 2020

Communication and artificial intelligence (AI) are closely related. It is communication – particularly interpersonal conversational interaction – that provides AI with its defining test case and experimental evidence. Likewise, recent developments in AI introduce new challenges and opportunities for communication studies. Technologies such as machine translation of human languages, spoken dialogue systems like Siri, algorithms capable of producing publishable journalistic content, and social robots are all designed to communicate with users in a human-like way.

This timely and original textbook provides educators and students with a much-needed resource, connecting the dots between the science of AI and the discipline of communication studies. Clearly outlining the topic's scope, content and future, the text introduces key issues and debates, highlighting the importance and relevance of AI to communication studies. In lively and accessible prose, David Gunkel provides a new generation with the information, knowledge, and skills necessary to working and living in a world where social interaction is no longer restricted to humans.

The first work of its kind, An Introduction to Communication and Artificial Intelligence is the go-to textbook for students and scholars getting to grips with this crucial interdisciplinary topic.

Heidegger and the Media - Polity 2014

The most significant philosopher of Being, Martin Heidegger has nevertheless largely been ignored within communications studies. This book sets the record straight by demonstrating the profound implications of his unique philosophical project for our understanding of today’s mediascape. The full range of Heidegger’s writing from Being and Time to his later essays is drawn upon.

Topics covered include: 1) an analysis of Heidegger's theory of language and its relevance to communications studies, 2) a critical interpretation of mass media and digital culture that draws upon Heidegger's key concept of Dasein, 3) a discussion of mediated being and its objectifying tendencies, and 4) an assessment of Heidegger's legacy for future developments in media theory.

Clear explanations and accessible commentary are used to guide the reader through the work of a thinker whose notorious reputation belies the highly topical nature of his key insights. In a world full of digital networks and new social media, but little critical insight, Heidegger and the Mediashows how a true understanding of the media requires familiarity with Heidegger’s unique brand of thinking.

Thinking Otherwise - Purdue University Press 2007

Thinking Otherwise is a unique and revealing look at the philosophical dimensions of information and communication technology (ICT). Among thinkers, the importance of what transpires within the virtual world is the effect these activities have on real human beings who exist outside of and beyond the computer-generated virtual environment. Obviously, the result of ICT interactions can lead to good or bad outcomes.

Gunkel, however, is not concerned about deciding which argument is more compelling, but how these arguments are organized, articulated, and configured. This approach entails challenging, criticizing and even changing the terms and conditions of the discourse itself. For example, the binary nature of computer logic tends to color debate about subsequent moral issues by portraying each side as the antithesis of the other. That is, the switch is either turned on or off.

Thinking Otherwise investigates the unique quandaries, complications, and possibilities introduced by a form of otherness that veils, through technology, the identity of the Other. Therefore, Gunkel formulates alternative ways of proceeding to take into account additional forms of otherness. Gunkel submits traditional forms of philosophical reasoning to a critical reevaluation caused by opportunities made available with information technology and also develops alternative ways of thinking that are oriented otherwise.

Hacking Cyberspace - Routledge 2001

In Hacking Cyberspace David J. Gunkel examines the metaphors applied to new technologies, and how those metaphors inform, shape, and drive the implementation of the technology in question. The author explores the metaphorical tropes that have been employed to describe and evaluate recent advances in computer technology, telecommunications systems, and interactive media. Taking the stance that no speech is value-neutral, Gunkel examines such metaphors as "the information superhighway" and "the electronic frontier" for their political and social content, and he develops a critical investigation that not only traces the metaphors' conceptual history, but explicates their implications and consequences for technological development. Through Hacking Cyberspace, David J. Gunkel develops a sophisticated understanding of new technology that takes into account the effect of technoculture's own discursive techniques and maneuvers on the actual form of technological development.

Handbook on the Ethics of AI - Edward Elgar 2024

This engaging Handbook critically examines the moral opportunities and challenges surrounding artificial intelligence. It provides a comprehensive overview of the most pressing problems concerning this technology by drawing on a wide range of analytical methods, traditions and approaches.

Advocating for a diversification of the study of ethics and AI, this Handbook covers the foundations of the field before delving into the challenges of responsibility, justice and authority in an AI-centred landscape. Chapter authors champion typically underrepresented or marginal traditions, including continental philosophy, indigenous cosmologies, queer studies, post-colonial theories, African philosophies, disability studies, and feminist ethics. Balancing legal and moral philosophies, the Handbook surveys the transformative present of AI, while also reckoning with the ethics of an increasingly inscrutable future.

The Handbook on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence is a crucial reference point for students and scholars of AI ethics, philosophy, technology and sociology. It will also appeal to legal practitioners, policy analysts, and regulators looking for a fundamental resource in AI ethics.

Should Robots Have Standing? - Frontiers 2022

Typically technological objects, no matter how simple or sophisticated, are considered to be tools or instruments of human decision making and action. This instrumentalist definition not only has the weight of tradition behind it, but it has so far proved to be a useful instrument for responding to and making sense of innovation in artificial intelligence and robotics. Social robots, however, appear to confront this standard operating procedure with new and unanticipated opportunities and challenges. Following the predictions developed in the computer as social actor studies and the media equation, users respond to these technological objects as if they were another socially situated entity. Social robots, therefore, appear to be more than just tools, occupying positions where we respond to them as another socially significant Other.

This open access book seeks to make sense of the social significance and consequences of technologies that have been deliberately designed and deployed for social presence and interaction. The organizing question of the collection—“Should robots have standing?”—is derived from an agenda-setting publication in environmental law and ethics written by Christopher Stone, “Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects.” In extending this mode of questioning to social robots, contributors will 1) debate whether and to what extent robots can or should have standing, 2) evaluate the benefits and the costs of recognizing social status, when it involves technological objects and artifacts, and 3) respond to and provide guidance for developing an intelligent and informed plan for the responsible integration of social robots..

The Changing Face of Alerity - Rowman & Littlefield 2016

The figure of the 'other' is fundamental to the concept of communication. Online or offline, communication, which is commonly defined as the act of sending or imparting information to others, is only possible in the face of others. In fact, the reason we communicate is to interact with others—to talk to another, to share our thoughts and insights with them, or to respond to their needs and requests. No matter how it is structured or conceptualized, communication is involved with addressing the other and dealing with the ontological, epistemological, and ethical questions of otherness or alterity. But who or what can be other? Who or what can be the subject of communication? Is the other always and only another human? Or can the other in these communicative interactions be otherwise?

This book is about others (and other kinds of others). It concerns the current position and status of the other in the face of technological innovations that can, in one way or another distort, mask, or even deface the other. Ten innovative essays, written by an international team of experts, individually and in collaboration with each other, seek to diagnose the current situation with otherness, devise innovative solutions to the questions of alterity, and provide insight for students, teachers and researchers trying to make sense of the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century.

Transgression 2.0 - Bloomsbury 2011

One doesn't need to look far to find examples of contemporary locations of cultural opposition. Digital piracy, audio mashups, The Onion and Wikipedia are all examples of transgression in our current mediascape. And as digital age transgression becomes increasingly essential, it also becomes more difficult to define and protect.

The contributions in this collection are organized into six sections that address the use of new technologies to alter existing cultural messages, the incorporation of technology and alternative media in transformation of everyday cultural practices and institutions, and the reuse and repurposing of technology to focus active political engagement and innovative social change.

Bringing together a variety of scholars and case studies, Transgression 2.0 will be the first key resource for scholars and students interested in digital culture as a transformative intervention in the types, methods and significance of cultural politics.