“Can Computer Based Human-Likeness Endanger Humanness?” – A Philosophical and Ethical Perspective on Digital Assistants Expressing Feelings They Can’t Have”

Abstract

Digital assistants engage with us with increasingly human-like conversations, including the expression of human emotions with such utterances as “I am sorry…”, “I hope you enjoy…”, “I am grateful…”, or “I regret that…”. By 2021, digital assistants will outnumber humans. No one seems to stop to ask if creating more digital companions that appear increasingly human is really beneficial to the future of our species. In this essay, we pose the question: “How human should computer-based human-likeness appear?” We rely on the philosophy of humanness and the theory of speech acts to consider the long-term consequences of living with digital creatures that express human-like feelings. We argue that feelings are the very substance of our humanness and therefore are best reserved for human interaction.