Co-director, Centre for Philosophy & Art, King’s College London;
Professor of Digital Media and Culture at SOAS, University of London
Culturally Competent AI
In keeping with the term ‘artificial intelligence’, our understanding of AI, whether in application or regulation, has focused on cognition. Here engineers have inherited a philosophic prejudice, enshrined in Descartes’ cogito, that emphasises thought, narrowly conceived as symbolic representations, over the range of activities that constitute meaning. As we deploy agentic AI – the delegation of decision-making, the award of autonomy – models based on cognition are faltering. To develop AI which functions ethically and appropriately in a range of social contexts, I argue we need to introduce the concept of agency, which has multiple context-dependent meanings. I conclude that safe, trustworthy AI relies on a technically oriented taxonomy of agency that defines outcomes across a range of possible interactions.
Ali Hossaini works at the cutting edge of art, science and technology. After launching several television networks, where he pioneered digital platforms, he began creating immersive art installations, winning acclaim from the New York Times, which calls him “a biochemist turned philosopher turned television producer turned visual poet.” In 2016 Hossaini launched Connected Culture at King’s College London. Sponsored by Ericsson, the project used Hossaini’s artistic creations as a medium for developing 5G standards. He then co-founded, and co-directed, National Gallery X, a partnership with King’s College London, where engineering researchers confronted the real-world challenges of an iconic art museum. He serves as a Thought Leader at global museum consultancy Lord Cultural Resources, and he has promoted the role of culture in health and well-being through the International Society of Urban Health. Hossaini holds a dual appointment as Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Engineering at King’s College London, where he co-directs the Centre for Philosophy and Art, and Professor of Digital Media and Culture at SOAS, University of London.
