Philosophy of the Machines: A Manifesto for Humans in the Age of Artificial Agents

Philosophy of the Machines: A Manifesto for Humans in the Age of Artificial Agents | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 27 February 2026 V3 Latest version Share on Philosophy of the Machines: A Manifesto for Humans in the Age of Artificial Agents Author : Generoso Immediato 0009-0006-0294-6264 [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174854028.83860699/v3 581 views 284 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract We must reconsider our relationship with machines as artificial intelligence (AI) evolves from task-based support to autonomous or assisted generation. Generation is not creation. Human intelligence—our only known model —is the sole benchmark for evaluating AI. Yet, we lack rigorous comparison standards because we do not fully understand the internal mechanisms of human intelligence. Perhaps it is more appropriate to speak of AI in simplified terms—as something that, under certain conditions, emulates what we commonly perceive as intelligent behavior. But even that remains uncertain. Let us remember that we still lack a universally accepted definition of intelligence, let alone a definition of thinking, or even a deeper understanding of the complex nature of consciousness. Let us also remember that over the last 80 years of computing and automation, the dominant discipline for solving problems has not been AI, but engineering. Engineering provides the methodologies, mental models, and validation frameworks we use to design and deploy systems. AI extends this legacy—and at the same time disrupts it, introducing new epistemic and ethical challenges that cannot be resolved solely through efficiency. On these premises, this Manifesto articulates the Philosophy of the Machines as a distinct discipline that consolidates established philosophical lines of inquiry into a unified, applicability-oriented corpus with an explicit order of inquiry. Presented as a manifesto, it develops this order across ten interdependent sections. The trajectory culminates in the Δ–η–ζ framework, introduced as a modelling and analytical scaffold—and, where operationally feasible, a basis for measurement—of net gain in real deployments. The aim is to support more realistic, auditable, and human-aligned business cases for AI and generative AI in a labor landscape that must evolve as artificial agents become pervasive and socio-technical complexity continues to expand. Within this order of inquiry—moving from foundational analysis to an operational modelling scaffold—the Manifesto foregrounds three questions: (i) What kind of “intelligence” are we building? (ii) What kind of humans must we become in response? (iii) How should responsibility be allocated when systems exceed our capacity for full understanding and oversight? These questions set the Manifesto’s agenda for the age of artificial agents. Intersect : Stanford Journal of Science, Technology, and Society, Vol. 19 No. 1 (2025). Version of Record: https://ojs.stanford.edu/ojs/index.php/intersect/article/view/4359 Supplementary Material File (philosophy of the machines v5_final (rev 03) aam.pdf) Download 752.33 KB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 29 May 2025 V2 Version 2 23 June 2025 V3 Version 3 27 February 2026 Copyright This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Keywords ai ethics artificial intelligence computer science economics ethics manifesto model philosophy philosophy of the machines strategy Authors Affiliations Generoso Immediato 0009-0006-0294-6264 [email protected] View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 581 views 284 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Generoso Immediato. Philosophy of the Machines: A Manifesto for Humans in the Age of Artificial Agents. Authorea . 27 February 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174854028.83860699/v3 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . Format Please select one from the list RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks Direct import Tips for downloading citations document.getElementById('citMgrHelpLink').addEventListener('click', function() { popupHelp(this.href); return false; }); $(".js__slcInclude").on("change", function(e){ if ($(this).val() == 'refworks') $('#direct').prop("checked", false); $('#direct').prop("disabled", ($(this).val() == 'refworks')); }); View Options View options PDF View PDF Figures Tables Media Share Share Share article link Copy Link Copied! Copying failed. 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