Work

Cognitive representation and AI wellbeing

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In a recent paper, Simon Goldstein and Cameron Domenico Kirk-Giannini argue that some current AI systems, namely artificial language agents, are plausible bearers of wellbeing. Central to their case is the claim that possession of mental states such as beliefs and desires is a precondition of wellbeing on several prominent accounts of wellbeing and that language agents possess such mental states. In this paper, I raise several issues for Goldstein and Kirk-Giannini’s case for language agent cognition and hence wellbeing. In particular, I argue that a careful look at both the behavioral outputs and the architecture of language agents raises doubts as to whether they possess mental states of the sort relevant to wellbeing. A broader lesson of my discussion is that work on AI wellbeing requires deeper engagement with philosophical and cognitive scientific work on the nature of states such as belief and desire.

Source: Asian Journal of Philosophy

DOI: 10.1007/s44204-025-00335-2

Author: Adam Bradley

Institution: Lingnan University

Language: English

Topic: Philosophy and Theoretical Science

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,990

Funder: Lingnan University