AI and the Disruption of Personhood

The new avatars and bots modeled after humans, the large language models with a “persona,” and the seemingly autonomously acting robots raise the question of whether AI technologies can also possess personhood or at least be part of our personhood. Do we extend our personhood through living or death bots in the digital realm? This article explores the application of the moral concept of personhood to AI technologies. It presents a twofold thesis: first, it illustrates, through various examples, how the concept of personhood is being disrupted in the context of AI technologies. Second, it discusses the potential evolution of the concept and argues for abandoning the personhood concept in AI ethics, based on reasons such as its vagueness, harmful and discriminatory character, and disconnection from society. Finally, the article outlines future perspectives for approaches moving forward, emphasizing the need for conceptual justice in moral concepts.