Can machines be trustworthy?

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

AI regulators promote ‘trustworthy AI’, but what exactly does trustworthy AI mean, and what does it have to do with trust? Many philosophers argue that the phrase is a contradiction of terms. Trust, unlike reliance, is said to be a uniquely human relationship involving direct responsiveness or intent. I argue that the objective of trustworthy AI can be real trust in the general sense of Karen Jones and others, and very similar to the kind of trust we place in institutions. The idea that trustworthiness does not apply to machines, stems from a petitio principii fallacy. We show how to escape this fallacy, providing a better and less anthropomorphic definition of trustworthiness. We briefly discuss how transparency modulates trustworthiness on our revised definition, as well as a possible challenge from intentionality.
Original languageEnglish
JournalAI and Ethics
Number of pages9
ISSN2730-5953
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2024

ID: 381731601