The non-anthropocentric informational agents: Codes, software, and the logic of emergence in cybersecurity

Many theoretical approaches to cybersecurity adopt an anthropocentric conceptualisation of agency; that is, tying the capacity to act to human subjectivity and disregarding the role of the non-human in co-constructing its own (in)security. This article argues that such approaches are insufficient in capturing the complexities of cyber incidents, particularly those that involve self-perpetuating malware and autonomous cyber attacks that can produce unintentional and unpredictable consequences. Using interdisciplinary insights from the philosophy of information and software studies, the article counters the anthropocentrism in the cybersecurity literature by investigating the agency of syntactic information (that is, codes/software) in co-producing the logics and politics of cybersecurity. It specifically studies the complexities of codes/software as informational agents, their self-organising capacities, and their autonomous properties to develop an understanding of cybersecurity as emergent security. Emergence is introduced in the article as a non-linear security logic that captures the peculiar agential capacities of codes/software and the ways in which they challenge human control and intentionality by co-constructing enmity and by co-producing the subjects and objects of cybersecurity.

TECHNOLOGICAL SOVEREIGNTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION OF FREE SOFTWARE AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

Questions of independence and sovereignty have long been present with regards to the Internet. In 1996, for instance, John Perry Barlow published his now well-known “Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace”. Twenty-five years later, notions like “digital sovereignty”, “data sovereignty” and “technological sovereignty” are increasingly used in public debates. This presentation will explore “technological sovereignty” but through the lens of Indigenous perspectives as well as those of social movements inspired by free software activism. These two perspectives seem to share what can be called an anti-hegemonic perspective on technological sovereignty. While they may reinforce each other, they also differ on many perspectives. It is noted for instance that the philosophy of information sharing in free and open-source software might foster the usage and misappropriation of knowledge held by Indigenous communities (Christen, 2012; Gida, 2019). This analysis will prolong a previous study by the authors which identified different discursive trends around sovereignty (anonymous reference). Methodologically, our approach is grounded in discourse analysis and reviews of academic and activist literature that has mobilized metaphors of digital sovereignty. What is the role of the metaphor of “sovereignty” in reconfiguring Indigenous and social justice activism, in relation to the Internet? What are the commonalities between these perspectives? How are they reinforcing or contradicting each other? We intend to contribute to the theme of this year’s AOIR conference – Independence – by looking at the critical discourses of Indigenous people and social activists through the lens of the metaphor of digital (technological/data) sovereignty.

Problems of Information in Dialectical Materialism (Translated from English)

The article introduces a complete translation of Professor P. P. Kirschermann's "Problems of Information in Dialectical Materialism". It was originally published in the respectable sovietological journal "Studies in Soviet Thought" in 1968. Professor P. P. Kirschermann's article is a preview of his monograph "Information und Widerspiegelung. Zu Problemen der Kybernetik und des Diamats", published in 1969. Its English translation appeared a year later and was published by D. Reidel Publishing Company as "Information and Reflection: On Some Problems of Cybernetics and how Contemporary Dialectical Materialism Copes with Them". Professor P. P. Kirschenmann worked under the guidance of the famous Polish philosopher J. M. Bochenski in the framework of a special program implemented by the Institute for Eastern European Studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. In his article, he identified the main features of dialectical and materialistic reflection of information and demonstrated their connection with the fundamental principles of the dialectical materialism. Professor P. P. Kirschenmann focused on the existence of internal collisions, which impeded the implementation of a consistent conceptualization of information. This critical understanding of the dialectical and materialistic philosophy of information is of significant interest for several reasons. First of all, it proves the involvement of dialectical and materialist philosophy in the context of European thought of the XX century. In addition, it demonstrates the relevance of P. P. Kirschenmann's provisions for modern domestic contexts of the philosophy of information.

The Chinese philosophy of information by Kun Wu

PurposeBy introducing the basic concepts and theories of the philosophy of information created by Kun Wu, and making some comparisons of the philosophy of information and related information theories between Wu and other scholars, this paper aims to have Chinese philosophy of information widely known and understood by more people in the world, thus promoting the international exchanges between Chinese and Western scholars on the topic of philosophy of information.Design/methodology/approachThe main research methods used in this paper are the literature review and the comparative study. On the one hand, it reviews some related concepts and theories in Kun Wu's academic works of philosophy of information. On the other hand, it compares the thoughts and viewpoints of Kun Wu with those of other scholars.FindingsFirst, Kun Wu is the first person who has established a complete and comprehensive theoretical system of philosophy of information in China; second, Kun Wu's philosophy of information is significant in originality and value, which could be thought as the intellectual quintessence of information age, thus worth learning. Third, with more international exchanges, Chinese philosophy of information created by Wu will surely be more and more influential in philosophical circles at home and abroad.Originality/valueIt is a very valuable first-hand material for Western scholars to know and understand Chinese philosophy of information.

Artificial intelligence and social responsibility: the case of the artificial intelligence strategies in the United States, Russia, and China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze how the development and utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for social responsibility are defined in the national AI strategies of the USA, Russia and China. Design/methodology/approach The notion of responsibility concerning AI is currently not legally defined by any country in the world. The authors of this research are going to use the methodology, based on Luciano Floridi’s Unified framework of five principles for AI in society, to determine how social responsibility is implemented in the AI strategies of the USA, Russia and China. Findings All three strategies for the development of AI in the USA, Russia and China, as evaluated in the paper, contain some or other components aimed at achieving public responsibility and responsible use of AI. The Unified framework of five principles for AI in society, developed by L. Floridi, can be used as a viable assessment tool to determine at least in general terms how social responsibility is implied and implemented in national strategic documents in the field of AI. However, authors of the paper call for further development in the field of mutually recognizable ethical models for socially beneficial AI. Practical implications This study allows us to better understand the linkages, overlaps and differences between modern philosophy of information, AI-ethics, social responsibility and government regulation. The analysis provided in this paper can serve as a basic blueprint for future attempts to define how social responsibility is understood and implied by government decision-makers. Originality/value The analysis provided in the paper, however general and empirical it may be, is a first-time example of how the Unified framework of five principles for AI in society can be applied as an assessment tool to determine social responsibility in AI-related official documents.

Tecno-Estados, infoesfera y tecnopolítica ¿Cómo hackear las nubes?

Nuestra forma de vida está sufriendo un proceso de informatización que redefine las prácticas y relaciones de poder. En esta transformación, el Estado y el activismo tradicional han perdido capacidad de actuación y con ello poder. Para comprender esta pérdida y desarrollar nuevos modos de resistencia, es necesario entender el modo en que están configuradas las relaciones de poder: qué es y cómo se hace la política en la actualidad.La filosofía de la información de Luciano Floridi ofrece un buen marco conceptual para caracterizar esta nueva forma de vida, pero considera el proceso de informatización como una cuestión ontológica que conduce a una visión del ecosistema informacional como un entorno neutral. Esto obstaculiza la capacidad crítica de una forma de vida cuya lógica simbiótica pone en jaque la libertad. Nuestra intención es completar sus análisis desde una perspectiva axiológica y política, con el fin de caracterizar un conjunto de condiciones para el desarrollo de resistencia política efectiva en la era informacional. Our way of life is going through a process of informatization that redefines practices and power relations. In this transformation, the State and traditional activism have lost their capacity to act and, thus, their power. To realize this situation, and to be able to develop new modes of resistance, it is necessary to understand how power relations are being configured: what politics is and how it is done today.Luciano Floridi's philosophy of information offers a good conceptual framework to characterize this new way of life. But he considers the process of computerization as an ontological issue, which leads to an informational ecosystem vision as neutral environment. This hinders the critical capacity in a way of life whose logic is symbiotic and compromises freedom. Our intention is to complete his analysis from an axiological and political perspective, in order to characterize a set of conditions for the development of effective political resistance in the informational age.

Towards a Contextual Approach to Data Quality

In this commentary, I propose a framework for thinking about data quality in the context of scientific research. I start by analyzing conceptualizations of quality as a property of information, evidence and data and reviewing research in the philosophy of information, the philosophy of science and the philosophy of biomedicine. I identify a push for purpose dependency as one of the main results of this review. On this basis, I present a contextual approach to data quality in scientific research, whereby the quality of a dataset is dependent on the context of use of the dataset as much as the dataset itself. I exemplify the approach by discussing current critiques and debates of scientific quality, thus showcasing how data quality can be approached contextually.

An Ontology of Software: Series, Structure and Function

This article proposes a guideline to develop an ontology of software. The first section gives a brief introduction to the importance of such ontology as a possible conceptual grounding for the philosophy of software, philosophy of computing and philosophy of information. The second section presents the background of the scope of this article in terms of both a symbolic and materialistic approach to software. The third section deploys the basic guidelines with the expositions of the two dimensions of software: the serial dimension and the structural dimension. The first dimension consists of three series, while the second in the exposition of the structure of any program. The fourth and last section will deal with a better understanding of what we can call the digital universe.