Special Issue: From Automation to Autonomy: Human Machine Relations in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Together with Frank Piller (RWTH Aachen University), Caja Thimm and Maximilian Mayer (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn), KHK c:o/re director Gabriele Gramelsberger co-edited a special issue of the journal “Human Machine Communications” on the shift from automation to autonomy. The guest-edited issue just appeared online.

As machines today gain capabilities that resemble autonomous agency (think of AI agents, for example), the line between human and machine autonomy is blurring, challenging traditional concepts of agency, control, and independence.

In this special issue, the authors explore the complexities of attributing autonomy to machines and AI systems. Philosophical, sociological, and technical approaches converge to explore how emerging forms of machine autonomy impact human agency, freedom, and decision-making, with applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to digital assistants and military drones.

The central topic is the growing tension between viewing autonomy as a positive attribute and the concerns about diminishing human authority in the face of increasingly independent technologies.

In the opening essay, the authors ask for an integrated understanding of autonomy as both an individual and collective construct, reflecting the highly complex and quickly evolving nature of current societal, ethical, and technological challenges.

You can find the paper on this website, the full issue follwing this link.