ABSTRACT
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly important issue in and for societies. In this paper I explore the way AI is conceived and focused upon. Two conceptual focuses of AI have emerged and these in turn have roots in key work from Alan Turing (his test) and John Searle (the Chinese room). I explore the arguments of these two. The intent is not a pejorative ‘back to basics’, but rather an exploration of sophisticated origins in order to identify how dividing lines and omissions can become in some ways ingrained and in others interstitial. Both involve problems of ontology and social ontology, which in turn creates problems for how we seek to shape the future. I draw the whole argument together in terms of the social significance of actual technological changes occurring under the aegis of AI, and do so finally with reference to Donati and Archer’s concept of relational goods.
