Luciano Floridi is a leading thinker in the philosophy of information and information ethics. His work deeply explores the nature of information and its ethical implications in the digital age. Floridi is characterized by a precise analytical approach and the ability to connect complex philosophical concepts with the real-world challenges of the information society. His influence extends beyond academic circles, shaping discussions on digital ethics and the future of information.
Focusing on the intersection of environmental policies and digital solutions, this book presents a compelling argument for enhancing democracy and reforming capitalism in the digital age. Luciano Floridi advocates for responsible practices that promote sustainability and social equity, offering fresh insights and bold strategies for political reform. Through engaging analysis and thought experiments, readers are encouraged to critically examine the future of politics and collaborate for meaningful change, making it a vital read for those interested in the philosophy of technology and modern governance.
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence develops the theses that AI is an
unprecedented divorce between agency and intelligence and, on this basis, that
AI as a new form of agency can be harnessed ethically and unethically. Luciano
Floridi argues in favour of a marriage between the Green of environmentalism
and the Blue of our digital technologies.
Who are we, and how do we relate to each other? Luciano Floridi, a leading contemporary philosopher, explores how developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are reshaping these fundamental questions. As the lines between online and offline life blur, we become interconnected and surrounded by smart objects, integrating into an "infosphere." The personas we adopt on social media increasingly influence our 'real' lives, leading us to live in a state Floridi calls "onlife." This metaphysical shift signifies a fourth revolution, akin to those initiated by Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud. "Onlife" permeates our daily activities—shopping, working, learning, caring for health, entertainment, and relationships, as well as interactions with law, finance, and politics, even warfare. ICTs act as environmental forces that create and transform our realities. To harness their benefits, we must consider the implicit risks: will these technologies empower or constrain us? Floridi argues for an expanded ecological and ethical perspective that encompasses both natural and artificial realities, advocating for an 'e' in environmentalism that effectively addresses the challenges posed by our digital technologies and information society.
Luciano Floridi unpacks this fundamental concept - what information is, how it
is measured, its value and meaning - cutting across the sciences and
humanities, from DNA to the Internet, and the ethical issues related to
privacy, copyright, and accessibility.
Luciano Floridi presents an innovative approach to philosophy, conceived as
conceptual design. His starting-point is that reality provides the data which
we transform into information. He explores how we make, transform, refine, and
improve the objects of our knowledge, and defends the radical idea that
knowledge is design.
Luciano Floridi presents a book that will set the agenda for the philosophy of information — the study of the nature of information and the development of information-theoretic and computational methodologies for philosophy. It revitalizes old philosophical questions, poses new problems, and it has already produced a wealth of important results.
Luciano Floridi develops an original ethical framework for dealing with the new challenges posed by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ICTs have profoundly changed many aspects of life, including the nature of entertainment, work, communication, education, health care, industrial production and business, social relations, and conflicts. They have had a radical and widespread impact on our moral lives and on contemporary ethical debates. Privacy, ownership, freedom of speech, responsibility, technological determinism, the digital divide, and pornography online are only some of the pressing issues that characterise the ethical discourse in the information society. They are the subject of Information Ethics (IE), the new philosophical area of research that investigates the ethical impact of ICTs on human life and society. Since the seventies, IE has been a standard topic in many curricula. In recent years, there has been a flourishing of new university courses, international conferences, workshops, professional organizations, specialized periodicals and research centres. However, investigations have so far been largely influenced by professional and technical approaches, addressing mainly legal, social, cultural and technological problems. This book is the first philosophical monograph entirely and exclusively dedicated to it. Floridi lays down, for the first time, the conceptual foundations for IE. He does so systematically, by pursuing three goals: a) a metatheoretical goal: it describes what IE is, its problems, approaches and methods; b) an introductory goal: it helps the reader to gain a better grasp of the complex and multifarious nature of the various concepts and phenomena related to computer ethics; c) an analytic goal: it answers several key theoretical questions of great philosophical interest, arising from the investigation of the ethical implications of ICTs. Although entirely independent of The Philosophy of Information (OUP, 2011), Floridi's previous book, The Ethics of Information complements it as new work on the foundations of the philosophy of information.
Chi siamo e che tipo di relazioni stabiliamo gli uni con gli altri? Luciano Floridi sostiene che gli sviluppi nel campo delle tecnologie dell'informazione e della comunicazione stiano modificando le risposte a domande così fondamentali. I confini tra la vita online e quella offline tendono a sparire e siamo ormai connessi gli uni con gli altri senza soluzione di continuità, diventando progressivamente parte integrante di un'"infosfera" globale. Questo passaggio epocale rappresenta niente meno che una quarta rivoluzione, dopo quelle di Copernico, Darwin e Freud. L'espressione "onlife" definisce sempre di più le nostre attività quotidiane: come facciamo acquisti, lavoriamo, ci divertiamo, coltiviamo le nostre relazioni. In ogni campo della vita, le tecnologie della comunicazione sono diventate forze che strutturano l'ambiente in cui viviamo, creando e trasformando la realtà. Saremo in grado di raccoglierne i frutti? Quali, invece, i rischi impliciti? Floridi suggerisce che dovremmo sviluppare un approccio in grado di rendere conto sia delle realtà naturali sia di quelle artificiali, in modo da affrontare con successo le sfide poste dalle tecnologie correnti e dalle attuali società dell'informazione.
Jak infosféra mění tvář lidské reality.
Vývoj informačních a komunikačních technologií (ICT) radikálně proměňuje nejen to, jak rozumíme světu a jak vzájemně komunikujeme, ale také způsob, jakým se díváme sami na sebe a jak chápeme svou vlastní povahu, existenci a odpovědnost. Rozšíření ICT tak představuje čtvrtou revoluci v dlouhém procesu přehodnocování základní podstaty a role lidstva ve vesmíru: jakožto lidstvo netvoříme nehybný střed vesmíru (kopernikovská revoluce), nelišíme se nijak mimořádně od zbytku zvířecího světa (darwinovská revoluce) a zdaleka nejsme sami pro sebe ve svém vědomí zcela transparentní (freudovská revoluce). ICT nám nyní dávají najevo, že nepředstavujeme izolované, odpojené činitele, ale informační organismy, kteří spolu s jinými druhy těchto činitelů sdílejí globální prostředí, v konečném pohledu utvářené z informací, takzvanou infosféru (Turingova revoluce).
