Recent developments in AI and robotics have urged philosophers to reconsider the traditional dichotomy between humans and machines and question how we should coexist with artificial agents––that is, intelligent machines, such as chatbots and social robots, that appear to possess agency. The aim of this workshop is to explore this deeply philosophical and increasingly urgent question by fostering discussion among researchers with various backgrounds.

We welcome Professor David J. Gunkel (Northern Illinois University) as our keynote speaker, a leading scholar on this topic, renowned for his Machine Question trilogy—The Machine Question (2012), Robot Rights (2018), and Person, Thing, Robot (2023). In addition, we will have two invited speakers, Dr. Tami Yanagisawa (Kwansei Gakuin) and Dr. Minao Kukita (Nagoya), and four selected speakers share and discuss their cutting-edge research on these topics.  

See our special workshop website for details (titles, abstracts, timetable, etc.) and registration.

Inquiries

Shimizu Hayate (shimizu.hayate.z4@elms.hokudai.ac.jp)

Katsunori Miyahara (kmiyahara@chain.hokudai.ac.jp)

This event is supported by the Toyota Foundation funded project “Pioneering “Artificial Subject Studies”: A New Framework for Advancing Interdisciplinary Studies on the Ideal Form of the Co-Existence Between Human Beings and Artificial Subjects” (D21-ST-0012)