The influence of engineering theory and practice on philosophy of AI

Abstract

Ever since the early days of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the complexity of its relationship with philosophy has been under observation. Some devoted their efforts to a systematic foundation of philosophy of AI, taking for granted its placement within philosophy of science. Such endeavors were based on the view of AI as a scientific discipline, primarily aimed at answering questions about the nature of intelligence. Thus, it was natural to consider philosophy of AI, like philosophy of physics and of biology, as part of philosophy of science. We believe, however, that this position must be reconsidered today in the light of the issues recently tackled by AI and of the emergence of new fields of analysis: philosophy of technology and philosophy and engineering. In this paper we analyze how the view of AI as engineering influences philosophy of AI. Moreover, we argue that philosophy of AI, under this influence, can contribute to the foundation of the emerging philosophy of engineering.