Luca Maria Possati

University of Porto | UP · Instituto de Filosofia da Universidade do Porto

The thesis of the paper is that semiotic processes are intrinsic to computation and computational systems. An explanation of computation that does not take this semiotic dimension into account is incomplete. Semiosis is essential to computation and therefore requires a rigorous definition. To prove this thesis, the author analyzes two concepts of c...

The introduction argues that the main purpose of this book is giving a rigorous definition of software from the point of view of continental philosophy. Continental philosophy can give us a new understanding of digital technology. This does not mean undermining the contribution of analytic philosophy or other disciplines. The book is halfway betwee...

This chapter discusses the relationship between software and human experience. The author argues that software-based experiences are based on a radical discrepancy between the code and “lived experience.” This break is different from the so-called opacity of technology. The author starts analyzing a case study: the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyss...

In this chapter, the author unifies the two parts of the book, the historical (Chap. 4) and the theoretical (Chap. 3), from a Kantian perspective. The central thesis is that software is a form of reflective judgment, namely, “digital reflective judgement.” This transcendental approach allows us to overcome the limitations of an overly dualistic and...

The first part of these conclusions summarizes the main theses of the book, underlining the problems examined and the solutions proposed. The meaning of the concept of hermeneutics used in the previous chapters is also clarified. Defining software from a hermeneutic point of view is not a way to undermine and weaken software as well as the rational...

The previous chapter developed the thesis that software is a hermeneutic process of appropriation and distancing, exactly like a text, in Ricoeur’s sense. The present chapter intends to expand this thesis beyond the analogy with the text. The author claims that the hermeneutic process of appropriation and distancing is rooted in a much deeper herme...

The central thesis of this paper is that human unconscious processes influence the behavior and design of artificial intelligence (AI). This thesis is discussed through the case study of a chatbot called Replika, which intends to provide psychological assistance and friendship but has been accused of inciting murder and suicide. Replika originated...

The aim of this chapter is to contribute to understanding software from a continental philosophy perspective. The author argues that Paul Ricoeur’s philosophical hermeneutics can help in developing a new understanding of the nature of software, thus fueling the philosophical debate on digital technology. The core of the chapter is the application o...

The core hypothesis of this paper is that neuropsychoanalysis provides a new paradigm for artificial general intelligence (AGI). The AGI agenda could be greatly advanced if it were grounded in affective neuroscience and neuropsychoanalysis rather than cognitive science. Research in AGI has so far remained too cortical-centric; that is, it has privi...

This book applies the concepts and methods of psychoanalysis to the study of artificial intelligence (AI) and human-AI interaction. It develops a new, more fruitful approach for applying psychoanalysis to AI and machine behavior. It appeals to a broad range of scholars: philosophers working on psychoanalysis, technology, AI ethics, and cognitive sc...

This article discusses the relation between software and human experience. I argue that software-based experiences are based on a radical discrepancy between the code and “lived experience.” This break is different than the so-called “opacity” of technology. I start analyzing a case study: the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Video games are on...

In today’s society the use of new technologies for data visualizations is becoming increasingly widespread. This article seeks neither to give a complete view of its history nor an exhaustive definition of the phenomenon of data visualization. This article takes a new perspective on data visualization by dealing only with a new type of data visuali...

The paper intends to establish a comprehensive definition of software from a postphenomenological and hermeneutic point of view. It intends to show the contribution of continental philosophy to the study of new technologies. In section “Introduction: why do we need a comprehensive definition of software?,” I underline the need for a philosophical a...

The noema is one of the most daring and controversial concept of the Husserlian theory of intentionality. It was first introduced by Husserl in 1912, within some research manuscripts, but was only fully developed in Ideen. In this paper I claim that the noema is an ambiguous notion, the result of a theoretical operation, the epoché, whose aim is co...

The central hypothesis of this paper is that the concepts and methods of psychoanalysis can be applied to the study of AI and human/AI interaction. The paper connects three research fields: machine behavior approach, psychoanalysis and anthropology of science. In the “Machine behavior: research perspectives” section, I argue that the behavior of AI...

This article proposes a reading of Ricoeur and Deleuze from their respective interpretations of Spinoza's thought. Ricoeur and Deleuze are placed in the center of the Spinoza-Renaissance that took place in France in the Fifties and Sixties. However, Ricoeur's Spinozism is still largely unknown. The first two parts of the article concern Spinoza's c...

Cet article présente une reformulation générale de l’analogie du texte et de l’action de Paul Ricœur. Mon hypothèse de travail est qu’une telle reformulation nous aide à mieux contextualiser des tensions qui traversent toute la philosophie pratique de Ricœur, tout d’abord la tension entre le social et l’institution. Il s’agit de montrer que la phil...