Ethics for cognitive assemblages: Who's in charge here?

Abstract

Most of the world's work in developed countries is now done through cognitive assemblages, collectivities comprised of humans, nonhumans, and computational media in which cognition, agency, and intentionality are distributed among many actors and agents. Yet there are alarmingly few ethical frameworks appropriate for cognitive assemblages; traditionally, most have centered solely on humans as individuals without taking cognitive media into account. This chapter aims to sketch a landscape of current approaches, evaluate them, and discuss their implications. Among the issues considered are how to account for responsibility when an algorithm is involved; the harms specific to cognitive assemblages and how best to mitigate them; whether algorithms can be designed to evolve ethical norms and behaviors; and whether computational agents might themselves deserve ethical consideration. The chapter aims to highlight the urgent necessity of developing ethical frameworks for cognitive assemblages and indicate which directions seem the most promising.