March 18, 2023
In March, the FSU Institute for Law, Technology and Innovation welcomed Harvard University Professor Mathias Risse to discuss his new book “Political Theory of the Digital Age: Where Artificial Intelligence Might Take Us.” The conversation was moderated by FSU Professor Jacob Eisler and included an overview of Risse’s book, as well as an audience Q&A session.
Risse is Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy and Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. His work focuses on questions of human rights, ethics, trade, immigration, climate change, and technology in the lens of global justice. Risse also teaches at Harvard College and the Harvard Extension School, in affiliation with the Philosophy Department. He has organized several major international conferences in an effort to foster collaboration among political philosophers and representatives of other fields. Risse is originally from Westphalia, Germany. He studied in Bielefeld, Pittsburg, and Jerusalem, and received his PhD from Princeton. Risse taught in the Department of Philosophy at Yale before joining Harvard University.
In his presentation, Risse highlighted some of the key arguments that he makes in his book as well as critical questions that remain after his deep-dive into the topic. Risse acknowledges that Political Theory is not currently aging at the pace of innovation. Historically, technology has not been a focus of liberal philosophy. It has more so been a focus of Marxism, Critical Theory, and a branch of Existentialism. Risse argues this needs to change. Political philosophy in the modern age, including in the liberal philosophy tradition, must include philosophy of technology. Risse acknowledges the idea that, as technology progresses, we might be entering Life 3.0 — where physical shapes and learning behaviors are up to an entities discretion.
Risse builds on this discussion by considering how AI will change the materiality of democracy including what impact it will have on the public sphere, political power, and economic power. He highlighted how this year specifically is a critical time for democracy with many important elections.
Risse continues his analysis of political theory in the digital age by raising the question of how we can protect individuals in digital lifeworlds. How can we use deepfake technology for self-exploration and unleashing human creativity instead of undermining human ability? How will human rights be affected? What might happen if Life 3.0 occurs?
As Risse wrapped up the discussion, prior to taking questions, he left the audience with a thought-provoking message: “If you could pick one time in history of humanity to be alive roughly now is still a good choice because there is so much possible…and the bad stuff that can happen hasn’t happened yet so it can in principle still be averted.” Ultimately, Risse concludes the discussion by leaving audience members to consider how may such technological advancements engage our humanity and affect the meaning of life.
This discussion provided audience members a sneak peak into important topics Risse discusses in his book and provoked listeners to consider what the future of political philosophy in the digital age may look like.