2025/04/24 by Philipp Koralus, Koralus, Philipp · 1 voice · 4 citations
Computer Science · Neuroscience · Social Sciences · #Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI) #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #Embodied and Extended Cognition #Ethics and Social Impacts of AI #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations #cs.AI #cs.CY
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.18601
openalex publication_date 2025/04/24 · arxiv published 2025/04/24 · arxiv updated 2025/04/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In the face of rapidly advancing AI technology, individuals will increasingly rely on AI agents to navigate life's growing complexities, raising critical concerns about maintaining both human agency and autonomy. This paper addresses a fundamental dilemma posed by AI decision-support systems: the risk of either becoming overwhelmed by complex decisions, thus losing agency, or having autonomy compromised by externally controlled choice architectures reminiscent of ``nudging'' practices. While the ``nudge'' framework, based on the use of choice-framing to guide individuals toward presumed beneficial outcomes, initially appeared to preserve liberty, at AI-driven scale, it threatens to erode autonomy. To counteract this risk, the paper proposes a philosophic turn in AI design. AI should be constructed to facilitate decentralized truth-seeking and open-ended inquiry, mirroring the Socratic method of philosophical dialogue. By promoting individual and collective adaptive learning, such AI systems would empower users to maintain control over their judgments, augmenting their agency without undermining autonomy. The paper concludes by outlining essential features for autonomy-preserving AI systems, sketching a path toward AI systems that enhance human judgment rather than undermine it.