Wisdom and Control: Applying Stoic Philosophy to Technology
摘要
This chapter examines how Stoic and neo-Stoic philosophy as a philosophy of practical and applied wisdom applies to technology, and specifically to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. Unless otherwise stated for convenience I will refer to these technologies collectively, as “technology.” The chapter comprises three sections: (1) Comparison of the control problem of AI technology and how it aligns to the control problem of Stoic philosophy; (2) the core principles of Stoic philosophy and how they apply to technology; and (3) why Stoic philosophy as practical wisdom is of relevance and importance to technology. Given that any technology cannot be good for itself or the good of the Big Tech companies that manage them, but good for humanity overall, any instrumental positive value of such technologies must not be at the cost of their negative eudaimonic impact on society. Ultimately, the core problem of technology is not technical to be solved by engineers but a moral problem to be solved collectively by society and the global community. The overarching rationale for the application of Stoic and neo-Stoic philosophy to evaluate the impact of technology on society is that Stoic philosophy as a way of life with its focus on the attainment of eudaimonia or well-being is conceptually and practically relevant and important to the eudaimonic assessment of technology. The Dual Obligation Information-Wisdom Theory (DOIT-Wisdom) designed to enable the operationalisation of the application of Stoic ethics to technology forms a central feature of the application of Stoic philosophy to technology.