Robots and dignity from an Afro-communitarian perspective

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dc.contributor.advisor Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma
dc.contributor.coadvisor Metz, Thaddeus
dc.contributor.postgraduate Maiyane, Karabo Samuel
dc.date.accessioned 2024-07-16T12:45:07Z
dc.date.available 2024-07-16T12:45:07Z
dc.date.created 2024-09
dc.date.issued 2024-04
dc.description Thesis (PhD (Philosophy))--University of Pretoria, 2024. en_US
dc.description.abstract One of the criticisms raised against using technologies powered with artificial intelligence (AI) is that some of their uses would undermine human dignity. This argument is prevalent in healthcare and military robotics, where it is argued that the use of these AI technologies in various domains undermines or violates the dignity of those human beings who are in contact with them. In this thesis, I look to investigate Under which conditions various AI technologies would undermine human dignity. To answer this question, I first develop an African communitarian conception of dignity, which I will then use to evaluate the impact of AI technologies on dignity in the domains of healthcare and warfare. What is different about communitarian conceptions proposed here is that they prize different normative values, such as community over individual interest and duties over rights. In my conception, I argue that one has dignity when they have the capacity for communal relationships as subjects or objects. To honour this dignity, this dignity is respecting other agents’ capacity. Based on this evaluation, I argue that there are clear cases where AI technologies would undermine dignity, just as there are also clear cases where their use would enhance it. This thesis contributes to the philosophical discourse in two main ways. First, it advances an African Communitarian conception of dignity as a plausible conception to evaluate the impact of AI technologies on human dignity. Secondly, it evaluates the impact of dignity using the proposed conception formulated, bringing out relational considerations that have not been salient in debates up to now. en_US
dc.description.availability Unrestricted en_US
dc.description.degree PhD (Philosophy) en_US
dc.description.department Philosophy en_US
dc.description.faculty Faculty of Humanities en_US
dc.description.sponsorship NIHSS en_US
dc.identifier.citation * en_US
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.26302417 en_US
dc.identifier.other S2024 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/97053
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher University of Pretoria
dc.rights © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
dc.subject UCTD en_US
dc.subject Human dignity en_US
dc.subject Afro-communitarianism en_US
dc.subject Human robot interaction en_US
dc.subject Care robots en_US
dc.subject Autonomous weapon systems en_US
dc.subject Ethics of artificial intelligence en_US
dc.subject.other Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
dc.subject.other SDG-04: Quality education
dc.subject.other Humanities theses SDG-04
dc.subject.other SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
dc.subject.other Humanities theses SDG-16
dc.subject.other SDG-03: Good health and well-being
dc.subject.other Humanities theses SDG-03
dc.title Robots and dignity from an Afro-communitarian perspective en_US
dc.type Thesis en_US


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