Generative AI and the Ethical Risks Associated with Human-Computer Symbiosis

Abstract: This article critically examines digital technology through the lens of existential philosophy concerned with human-technology interaction. One such philosophy is human-technology symbiosis (or man-computer symbiosis, in J.C.R. Licklider’s terminology). A similar view appears in Douglas Engelbart’s work on the augmentation of human intelligence. These ideas form the framework for this paper’s analysis. The early computing scientists considered technical progress with deep care for the future of human creativity and human intelligence. They set a course for a new future of human-computer interaction that would take the form of a partnership or a team. Their values continue to play powerfully into digital culture today. The ethical concerns for cybernetics voiced by Norbert Wiener further enrich the critical positioning in this paper. Using this theoretical framework, the analysis will show that generative artificial intelligence is philosophically congruent with the idea of symbioti.... https://ojs.weizenbaum-institut.de/index.php/wjds/article/view/179

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Generative AI and the Ethical Risks Associated with Human-Computer Symbiosis ; volume:5 ; number:1 ; year:2025 ; Weizenbaum journal of the digital society ; 5, Heft 1 (2025)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Stockman, Caroline

Further information

• DOI: 10.34669/wi.wjds/5.1.2
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2501041054004.942416286450
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:32 AM CEST