The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care
Machine learning (ML) trains itself by discovering patterns of correlations that can be applied to new inputs. That is a very powerful form of generalization, but it is also very different from the sort of generalization that the west has valorized as the highest form of truth, such as universal law...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Philosophies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/26 |
| _version_ | 1797297205514600448 |
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| author | David Weinberger |
| author_facet | David Weinberger |
| author_sort | David Weinberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Machine learning (ML) trains itself by discovering patterns of correlations that can be applied to new inputs. That is a very powerful form of generalization, but it is also very different from the sort of generalization that the west has valorized as the highest form of truth, such as universal laws in some of the sciences, or ethical principles and frameworks in moral reasoning. Machine learning’s generalizations synthesize the general and the particular in a new way, creating a multidimensional model that often retains more of the complex differentiating patterns it has uncovered in the training process than the human mind can grasp. Particulars speak louder in these models than they do in traditional generalizing frameworks. This creates an odd analogy with recent movements in moral philosophy, particularly the feminist ethics of care which rejects the application of general moral frameworks in favor of caring responses to the particular needs and interests of those affected by a moral decision. This paper suggests that our current wide-spread and justified worries about ML’s inexplicability—primarily arising from its reliance on staggeringly complex patterns of particulars—may be preparing our culture more broadly for a valorizing of particulars as at least as determinative as generalizations, and that this might help further advance the importance of particulars in ideas such as those put forward by the ethics of care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:17:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-74203a467e7647c59e7832637c1ae64e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2409-9287 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:17:01Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Philosophies |
| spelling | doaj.art-74203a467e7647c59e7832637c1ae64e2024-02-23T15:31:31ZengMDPI AGPhilosophies2409-92872024-02-01912610.3390/philosophies9010026The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of CareDavid Weinberger0Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAMachine learning (ML) trains itself by discovering patterns of correlations that can be applied to new inputs. That is a very powerful form of generalization, but it is also very different from the sort of generalization that the west has valorized as the highest form of truth, such as universal laws in some of the sciences, or ethical principles and frameworks in moral reasoning. Machine learning’s generalizations synthesize the general and the particular in a new way, creating a multidimensional model that often retains more of the complex differentiating patterns it has uncovered in the training process than the human mind can grasp. Particulars speak louder in these models than they do in traditional generalizing frameworks. This creates an odd analogy with recent movements in moral philosophy, particularly the feminist ethics of care which rejects the application of general moral frameworks in favor of caring responses to the particular needs and interests of those affected by a moral decision. This paper suggests that our current wide-spread and justified worries about ML’s inexplicability—primarily arising from its reliance on staggeringly complex patterns of particulars—may be preparing our culture more broadly for a valorizing of particulars as at least as determinative as generalizations, and that this might help further advance the importance of particulars in ideas such as those put forward by the ethics of care.https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/26AIethicsethics of caremorality |
| spellingShingle | David Weinberger The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care Philosophies AI ethics ethics of care morality |
| title | The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care |
| title_full | The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care |
| title_fullStr | The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care |
| title_short | The Rise of Particulars: AI and the Ethics of Care |
| title_sort | rise of particulars ai and the ethics of care |
| topic | AI ethics ethics of care morality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/26 |
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