Can machines take care?

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Published: Dec 30, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32334/oqnfp.2023n53a964
Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, caregiving, affectivity, knowing-how

Main Article Content

Eros Carvalho
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7267-5662

Abstract

Applications and devices of artificial intelligence are increasingly common in the healthcare field. Robots fulfilling some caregiving functions are not a distant future. In this scenario, we must ask ourselves if it is possible for machines to care to the extent of completely replacing human care and if such replacement, if possible, is desirable. In this paper, I argue that caregiving requires know-how permeated by affectivity that is far from being achieved by currently available machines. I also maintain that the complete substitution of human caregiving by machine caregiving is not desirable because caregiving requires genuine human connection.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 31 No. 53 (2023): Philosophy of Technology Dossier
Section
Articles
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Author Biography

Eros Carvalho, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

Eros Moreira de Carvalho is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at UFRGS and a CNPq Research Productivity Fellow. Between March 2017 and February 2018, Professor Eros Carvalho made an academic visit to the University of Edinburgh under the CAPES Senior Internship Abroad program. He is a member of the Enactive Cognition and Narrative Research Group (University of Wollongong Australia). Professor Eros Carvalho has experience in the following areas of Philosophy: epistemology, general philosophy of science and philosophy of cognitive science. His research deals mainly with issues related to perceptual knowledge, knowledge obtained by inductive inference and the philosophy of cognitive science.

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