IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/infosf/v22y2020i3d10.1007_s10796-019-09969-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Can Computer Based Human-Likeness Endanger Humanness?” – A Philosophical and Ethical Perspective on Digital Assistants Expressing Feelings They Can’t Have”

Author

Listed:
  • Jaana Porra

    (University of Houston)

  • Mary Lacity

    (University of Arkansas)

  • Michael S. Parks

    (University of Houston)

Abstract

Digital assistants engage with us with increasingly human-like conversations, including the expression of human emotions with such utterances as “I am sorry…”, “I hope you enjoy…”, “I am grateful…”, or “I regret that…”. By 2021, digital assistants will outnumber humans. No one seems to stop to ask if creating more digital companions that appear increasingly human is really beneficial to the future of our species. In this essay, we pose the question: “How human should computer-based human-likeness appear?” We rely on the philosophy of humanness and the theory of speech acts to consider the long-term consequences of living with digital creatures that express human-like feelings. We argue that feelings are the very substance of our humanness and therefore are best reserved for human interaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaana Porra & Mary Lacity & Michael S. Parks, 2020. "“Can Computer Based Human-Likeness Endanger Humanness?” – A Philosophical and Ethical Perspective on Digital Assistants Expressing Feelings They Can’t Have”," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 533-547, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:infosf:v:22:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10796-019-09969-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10796-019-09969-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10796-019-09969-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10796-019-09969-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Weigand, H. & Goldkuhl, G. & de Moor, A., 2003. "Proceedings of the 8th International Working Conference on the Language-Action Perspective on Communication Modeling (LAP 2003)," Other publications TiSEM 2ccca267-53f6-454f-9f6b-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Juhani Iivari & Rudy Hirschheim & Heinz K. Klein, 1998. "A Paradigmatic Analysis Contrasting Information Systems Development Approaches and Methodologies," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 9(2), pages 164-193, June.
    3. Jaana Porra, 2001. "A Dialogue with C. West Churchman," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 19-27, March.
    4. Mary O'Sullivan & Margaret B. W. Graham, 2010. "Guest Editors' Introduction," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 775-790, July.
    5. Don Gotterbarn, 2010. "The ethics of video games: Mayhem, death, and the training of the next generation," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 369-377, September.
    6. Steven Alter, 0. "Making Sense of Smartness in the Context of Smart Devices and Smart Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-13.
    7. Vijayan Sugumaran & T. V. Geetha & D. Manjula & Hema Gopal, 2017. "Guest Editorial: Computational Intelligence and Applications," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 19(5), pages 969-974, October.
    8. Kutoma J. Wakunuma & Bernd Carsten Stahl, 2014. "Tomorrow’s ethics and today’s response: An investigation into the ways information systems professionals perceive and address emerging ethical issues," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 383-397, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yu Chen & Scott Jensen & Leslie J. Albert & Sambhav Gupta & Terri Lee, 2023. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Student Assistants in the Classroom: Designing Chatbots to Support Student Success," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 161-182, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Newburry, William & Gardberg, Naomi A. & Sanchez, Juan I., 2014. "Employer Attractiveness in Latin America: The Association Among Foreignness, Internationalization and Talent Recruitment," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 327-344.
    2. Parinov, Sergey, 2022. "Micro-level description of the economic coordination," MPRA Paper 114816, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Wakunuma, Kutoma & Masika, Rachel, 2017. "Cloud computing, capabilities and intercultural ethics: Implications for Africa," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 695-707.
    4. Simon Kloker, 2020. "Non-addictive Information Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 549-562, June.
    5. Silvia Sinicropi & Damiano Cortese, 2021. "(Re)Thinking diversity within sustainable development: A systematic mapping study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 299-309, January.
    6. Parinov, Sergey, 2022. "Экономическая Координация Как Результат Координирующего Поведения Агентов [Economic coordination as a coordinating behavior of human agents]," MPRA Paper 112190, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Romanus Izuchukwu Okeke & Max Hashem Eiza, 2023. "The Application of Role-Based Framework in Preventing Internal Identity Theft Related Crimes: A Qualitative Case Study of UK Retail Companies," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 451-472, April.
    8. Babak Abedin & Christian Meske & Iris Junglas & Fethi Rabhi & Hamid R. Motahari-Nezhad, 2022. "Designing and Managing Human-AI Interactions," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 691-697, June.
    9. Abeer Al-Khoury & Sahraa Anwer Hussein & Muthana Abdulwhab & Zainab M. Aljuboori & Hossam Haddad & Mostafa A. Ali & Ibtihal A. Abed & Hakeem Hammood Flayyih, 2022. "Intellectual Capital History and Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis Using Scopus Database," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-22, September.
    10. Steven Alter, 2020. "Making Sense of Smartness in the Context of Smart Devices and Smart Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 381-393, April.
    11. Bahlmann, Jan & Spiller, Achim, 2008. "The Relationship between Supply Chain Coordination and Quality Assurance Systems: A Case Study Approach on the German Meat Sector," 110th Seminar, February 18-22, 2008, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 49768, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Kazem Haki & Michael Blaschke & Stephan Aier & Robert Winter, 2019. "A Value Co-creation Perspective on Information Systems Analysis and Design," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 61(4), pages 487-502, August.
    13. Richard Vidgen & Xiaofeng Wang, 2009. "Coevolving Systems and the Organization of Agile Software Development," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 355-376, September.
    14. Tasnuva Jahan, 2017. "Directors¡¯ Remuneration and Corporate Governance within the UK," International Journal of Learning and Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 7(3), pages 12-22, September.
    15. Parinov, Sergey, 2023. "Fundamental socio-economic coordination process and metacoordination," MPRA Paper 118980, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Rita Di Mascio, 2016. "Firms’ adoption of self-service technology: how managerial beliefs shape co-production decisions," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 6(1), pages 79-97, June.
    17. Parinov, Sergey, 2021. "Основания Общей Теории Социально-Экономической Координации [Foundation of a general theory of socio-economic coordination]," MPRA Paper 110667, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Paul M. Gangi & Allen C. Johnston & James L. Worrell & Samuel C. Thompson, 0. "What could possibly go wrong? A multi-panel Delphi study of organizational social media risk," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    19. Goles, Tim & Hirschheim, Rudy, 2000. "The paradigm is dead, the paradigm is dead...long live the paradigm: the legacy of Burrell and Morgan," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 249-268, June.
    20. Chiangmong Khiamniungan, 2023. "On the Editions of Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s The Buddha and His Dhamma," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 11(1), pages 85-101, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:infosf:v:22:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10796-019-09969-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.