(Old) Kantian Answers to (New) Digital Problems

Abstract

Technological innovation radically transforms our societies and questions our understanding of what it is to be human in a world threatened by a plurality of crises. In this context, we are faced with new problems, for which we need new solutions. This may seem like a standard task: we have been challenged by new problems also in the past; what is different, however, is that we are also under pressure to find solutions quickly to an increasing number of issues. For instance, the transformation of the public sphere through digital means populated by social media raises the problem of the concentration in the hands of a few major technology companies of their influence on public discourse. Again, with regard to the digital sphere animated by social media, we can note the unprecedented inclusion of all potential users, who become equal participants to a global discourse and authors of contributions and reactions as part of networked exchanges; but this unprecedented inclusion leads to an irresponsible egalitarianism which can encourage fake news, conspiracy theories and post-truth ideologies. Other problems include the crisis of public judgement generated by AI-generated images and deepfakes, the axiological status of AI-generated music or the experience of freedom in the virtual space of digital sphere. The aim of this panel is to return to some of the philosophical resources offered by Kant's works in order to formulate promising approaches to such problems.

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