Una prima tassonomia delle sfide politiche poste dall’intelligenza artificiale

Artificial intelligence (AI) has recently undergone a radical evolution, transitioning from a symbolic nature (e.g., expert systems), where humans imparted explicit rules, to a sub-symbolic one (e.g., machine learning systems) where statistical relationships are sought in large amounts of data (big data). To date, this paradigm shift remains little known to the general public. The article analyses the nature of this “alien intelligence”, so termed for its peculiar and, to some extent, obscure way for human beings to process information. Based on these characteristics, it explores three potential issues emerging from the widespread use of AI, emphasising that every innovation has consequences for power balances and social dynamics: the challenge of surveillance and the use of force; that of the quality of the public sphere; and finally, that of intellectual substitution and inequality. The article concludes by highlighting the necessity of a profound ethical and regulatory examination of AI in the coming decades.