INFOSPHERE: A FOURTH REVOLUTION YOU DON’T EXPECT

Infosphere: introduction

Many times I find myself highlighting an important branch of modern philosophy and Digital Humanism, which among other things influences our course on digital skills.

I am talking about the Philosophy of Information Ethics of which one of the leading representatives is Luciano Floridi, philosopher of Information and Technology at Oxford University.

The philosophy of information ethics is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals with the ethical analysis of issues raised by information and communication technologies.

Floridi argues that information ethics should be understood as a branch of ethics that deals with the evaluation of human behaviour and decisions that have an impact on information and communication, both individually and collectively. According to Floridi, information ethics must be based on universal principles and must take into account the consequences of human actions on society and the environment.

One of Floridi’s main contributions to the philosophy of information ethics is his theory of information as a resource, according to which information is a valuable resource that must be managed responsibly and sustainably. According to Floridi, information ethics must therefore deal with issues such as privacy, intellectual property, the right to information and the social responsibility of information technology.

The Ethics and Philosophy of Information Project

Luciano Floridi’s project on ethics and philosophy of information involves numerous philosophical questions, which refer to seemingly simple questions:

• what is information?
• the nature and ethics of artificial agents,
• the foundation and uniqueness of computer ethics,
• the semantics of scientific models,
• the nature and role of artificial companions in human life,
• the informational nature of the universe,
• The role that information plays in reasoning and logic.

Regarding the question “what is information?”, Floridi argues that information is a resource that can be used to convey knowledge, understanding, meaning and value. According to Floridi, information is a ‘resource’ because it is limited and can only be used once, and therefore must be managed responsibly.

In addition, Floridi also addresses the nature and ethics of artificial agents, i.e. computer systems that can act autonomously and make decisions. Floridi argues that artificial agents must be designed and used responsibly, taking into account the consequences of their actions on society and the environment.

Other philosophical issues addressed by Floridi concern the foundation and uniqueness of computer ethics, i.e. how ethics should be applied to information technologies; the semantics of scientific models, i.e. the meaning of models used in science; and the role that information plays in reasoning and logic.

INFOSPHERE

It all stems from the thesis that conceives of the universe as a large container filled with informational objects interacting dynamically with one another, connoted by the new term INFOSPHERE, and this includes biological beings and artificial agents interacting with one another.

Because of this ‘ubiquitous computing’ that pervades the entire environment, the world will appear almost alive to us and the current distinction between the off-line in the real world and the on-line in cyberspace will disappear.

The infosphere is a concept developed by Luciano Floridi to describe the universe as a large container full of informational objects dynamically interacting with each other. It is clear that the infosphere includes both biological beings and artificial agents, and represents a kind of ‘new dimension’ in which the real world and cyberspace merge indistinguishably.

There is a strong interconnectedness between humans, machines and the environment, due to the expansion of ‘ubiquitous computing’, i.e. the widespread dissemination of information and communication technologies in our daily lives. Because of this interconnection, the world appears almost ‘alive’ to us, and the distinction between the real world and cyberspace becomes increasingly blurred.

According to Floridi, the infosphere represents a major ethical challenge for human beings, as we must learn to manage this new dimension of human existence responsibly. In particular, we must consider the consequences of our actions on the infosphere and the other beings that inhabit it, both human and artificial.

The Fourth Existential Revolution

In his famous book, the philosopher of information speaks of a fourth revolution. But this is not the so-called fourth industrial revolution by artificial intelligence (which follows those of the steam engine, electricity and information technology), rather it is a revolution of our consciousness, of the understanding of our inner world immersed in the infosphere: the information space of the digital age that characterises all spheres of life, posing unknown challenges…… a kind of existential Metaverse, a term I like to use to describe this scenario.

A bit of history: what were the first three revolutions of being?

• The first dates back to the 16th century and is the work of Copernicus, who, by demonstrating that it is the Earth that revolves around the Sun, and not vice versa, confronted us with a stark truth: man is not at the centre of the universe.
• The second revolution is instead linked to Darwin, who with his theory of evolution challenged anthropocentrism and proved the animal origin of man.
• The third revolution was that of Freud who, by shifting the centre of gravity of the individual from consciousness to the unconscious, removed man’s dominion over the mind. This discovery removed man’s dominion over the mind and proved that we are influenced by many factors of which we are not conscious.
• The fourth revolution of being, linked to the role of digital and technology in our lives, represents another radical shift in our thinking about the nature of the universe and our place in it. What we are facing today is the fourth revolution and it is intimately linked to the role of digital and technology in our lives. “We were left with one centrality, which still led us to say things like ‘in chess no one will ever beat us’ or ‘I would really like to see if a robot is able to park in such a narrow space’,” said Floridi himself during a recent lecture in Milan. This revolution is confronting us with new and complex ethical and philosophical challenges, such as the role of artificial agents in our daily lives, the protection of privacy and the social responsibility of information technologies.

Here are some examples of these challenges:

1) The role of artificial agents in our daily lives: With the increase in computing power and artificial intelligence, artificial agents are becoming more and more present in our daily lives. For example, we can talk to virtual assistants such as Siri or Alexa to get information or make purchases, or use robots to clean the house or transport goods. However, this also brings new ethical challenges, such as the protection of privacy, security and liability in case artificial agents cause harm.

2) Privacy protection: With the increase in the collection of personal data through digital means, there is a growing concern about privacy protection. For example, there are concerns about the way personal data is collected, used and shared by companies and governments, and about the risk of privacy breaches or discriminatory

3) The social responsibility of information technology: Information technology has a significant impact on society and the environment, and there is therefore a growing concern about the social responsibility of the companies that produce and use it. For example, there are concerns about the impact of information technology on economic inequality, the environment and democracy. There are also questions about how companies should be responsible for the impact of their technologies on society and the environment, and how laws and regulations should manage this impact.

4) The role of information in society: Information and communication play an increasingly important role in society, and there are therefore ethical and philosophical questions about how this role should be handled. For example, there are concerns about the spread of false or manipulated news, and how information technologies affect our ability to form opinions and make decisions. There are also questions about how to ensure fair access to information and how to protect freedom of speech and expression.

By now we know: between artificial intelligences that defeat world champions in chess and countless other games, and that are gradually learning how to drive cars or diagnose diseases, even the certainty of being superior to anyone else in intellectual pursuits has been called into question.

This revolution can therefore be traced back to Alan Turing and the development of computer science. So many new unknowns are represented by the ever-increasing computational power together with the amount of Big Data.

Computational power, for example, allows us to do things that were previously unthinkable, such as creating artificial agents capable of acting autonomously and making decisions. However, this computational power can also be used for harmful purposes, such as cyberbullying or spreading fake news.

Similarly, the amount of Big Data available to us today allows us to make analyses and decisions more accurately and quickly. However, the collection and use of large amounts of personal data also raises ethical issues, such as the protection of privacy and the risk of discrimination.

Moreover, the increase in computational power and the amount of Big Data also raises broader philosophical questions, such as the role of artificial intelligence in our daily lives and how information influences the way we think and act.

The real challenge

In this context, Floridi emphasises an obvious paradigm shift that lies in the real question we must ask ourselves: what this computational power is doing to us.

This inevitably leads us to the real issue:

THE REAL CHALLENGE IN THE INFOSPHERE:

NOT DIGITAL INNOVATION, BUT GOVERNANCE

OF DIGITAL!!!

The expansion of ‘ubiquitous computing’ and the subsequent creation of the infosphere represent a paradigm shift in our understanding of the world and our role in it. Instead of simply asking “what can computational power do for us?”, we need to start asking “what is computational power doing to us and our society?”

According to Floridi, the real challenge in the infosphere is not so much technological innovation per se, but digital governance, i.e. how information and communication technologies are used and managed. In other words, we need to be concerned about how information technologies affect our daily lives and our society, and how we can use them responsibly and sustainably.

Questo significa che dobbiamo sviluppare una gestione del digitale che tenga conto delle conseguenze delle nostre azioni sulla società e sull’ambiente, e che garantisca la protezione dei diritti umani, della privacy e della proprietà intellettuale. Inoltre, dobbiamo anche considerare il ruolo degli agenti artificiali e delle tecnologie dell’informazione nella nostra vita quotidiana, e assicurarci che siano progettati e utilizzati in modo responsabile.