Persons, Unique Value and Avatars
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: An individual human has value partly in virtue of their uniqueness. Personal avatar technology—technology which creates a digital replication of a real person—appears to have the potential to undermine that value. Here I explore if and how avatars might make humans less valuable by undermining the value that a human gains from being unique. Ultimately, I conclude that, while avatars cannot make humans no longer unique, they could significantly undermine the value that we place on human uniqueness. First, I argue that a qualitative model of uniqueness cannot account for the unique value that a person has. This leads to the significant and surprising claim that necessarily unique properties of humans cannot accommodate the value arising from human uniqueness: humans have unique value in virtue of being contingently irreplaceable. I explore how the use of personal avatars might undermine or even destroy that value. Finally, I consider further applications of the theory of unique human value, including how it might explain and accommodate our attachment to personal avatars themselves.
Source: Minds and Machines
Author: Paula Sweeney
Institution: University of Aberdeen
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,290
Funder: Universitatea din București
OpenAlex ID: W4408030787