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153Even good bots fight: the case of WikipediaPLoS ONE 12 (2). 2017.In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the number of bots online, varying from Web crawlers for search engines, to chatbots for online customer service, spambots on social media, and content-editing bots in online collaboration communities. The online world has turned into an ecosystem of bots. However, our knowledge of how these automated agents are interacting with each other is rather poor. Bots are predictable automatons that do not have the capacity for emotions, meaning-making,…Read more
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151The politics of uncertaintyPhilosophy and Technology 28 (1): 1-4. 2015.What is uncertainty? There are of course several possible definitions, offered by different fields, from epistemology to statistics, but, in the background, one usually finds some kind of relation with the lack of information, in the following sense. Suppose we define semantic or factual information as the combination of a question plus the relevant, correct answer. If one has both the question and the correct answer, one is informed: “was Berlin the capital of Germany in 2010? Yes”. If one has …Read more
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151The philosophy of information: a methodological point of viewProfessional Knowledge Management - Experiences and Visions, Contributions to the 3rd Conference Professional Knowledge Management - Experiences and Visions, April 10-13, 2005, Kaiserslautern, Germany. 2005.The Philosophy of Information is a new area of research at the intersection of philosophy and computer science [4]. It concerns (a) the critical investigation of the conceptual nature and basic principles of information, including its dynamics (especially computation), utilization (especially computer ethics) and sciences; and (b) the elaboration and application of computational and information-theoretic methodologies to philosophical problems. Past work by members of our group has concentrated …Read more
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150Richard H. Popkin: Scepticism in the History of Philosophy (review)British Journal for the History of Philosophy 7 (1). 1999.This publication is a review of RIchard H. Popkin's Scepticism in the History of Philosophy.
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150Technology's in-betweennessPhilosophy and Technology 26 (2): 111-115. 2013.One of the most obvious features that characterises any technology is its in-betweeness—comprising technologies that stand in-between human users and natural affordances (natural objects, processes, or phenomena). This paper analyses technologies on the basis of their first- second- or third-order nature, and discusses how Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are creating a new externality.
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150I filosofi: calciatori o giornalisti? La ricezione della filosofia italiana nel contesto anglosassoneIn Francesco Paolo Firrao & Società Filosofica Italiana (eds.), La filosofia italiana in discussione, Pearson Italia S.p.a.. 2001.
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147We investigate the causal uncertainty surrounding the flash crash in the U.S. Treasury bond market on October 15, 2014, and the unresolved concern that no clear link has been identified between the start of the flash crash at 9:33 and the opening of the U.S. equity market at 9:30. We consider the contributory effect of mini flash crashes in equity markets, and find that the number of equity mini flash crashes in the three-minute window between market open and the Treasury Flash Crash was 2.6 tim…Read more
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142Philosophy of computing and information: 5 QuestionsAutomatic Press/VIP. 2008.Computing and information, and their philosophy in the broad sense, play a most important scientific, technological and conceptual role in our world. This book collects together, for the first time, the views and experiences of some of the visionary pioneers and most influential thinkers in such a fundamental area of our intellectual development.
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137The human projectThe Philosophers' Magazine 66 20-22. 2014.This article explores what technological unemployment might mean.
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137From data to semantic informationEntropy 5. 2003.There is no consensus yet on the definition of semantic information. This paper contributes to the current debate by criticising and revising the Standard Definition of semantic Information as meaningful data, in favour of the Dretske-Grice approach: meaningful and well-formed data constitute semantic information only if they also qualify as contingently truthful. After a brief introduction, SDI is criticised for providing necessary but insufficient conditions for the definition of semantic info…Read more
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136Regulation by design (RBD) is a growing research field that explores, develops, and criticises the regulative function of design. In this article, we provide a qualitative thematic synthesis of the existing literature. The aim is to explore and analyse RBD's core features, practices, limitations, and related governance implications. To fulfil this aim, we examine the extant literature on RBD in the context of digital technologies. We start by identifying and structuring the core features of RBD,…Read more
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134A proxy culturePhilosophy and Technology 28 (4). 2015.The culture that characterises mature information societies is now evolving from being a culture of signs and signification into a culture of proxies and interaction. Through a definition and discussion of proxies and degenerate proxies, this paper analyses the factors behind this evolution and the potential implications for such a major societal transformation.
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133Library information science (LIS) should develop its foundation in terms of a philosophy of information (PI). This seems a rather harmless suggestion. In Floridi (2002a), I have articulated some of the reasons why I believe that PI can fulfill the foundationalist needs better than SE can. In this contribution, I clarify some aspects of my proposal (Floridi, 2002a) in favor of the interpretation of LIS as applied PI. The aim of the article is to remove some ambiguities and possible misunderstandi…Read more
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131"Objective knowledge": the disappearance and revaluation of "knowledges" from John Sergeant To Karl PopperNouvelles de la République des Lettres 1. 1994.The plural for knowledge, “knowledges” fell out of use in English philosophical discourse at the end of the Seventeenth Century. This paper reflects on the potential significance of this in the development of theoretical approaches to epistemology from the writings of John Locke to Karl Popper and the present day.
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131Ancient scepticism and the sceptical tradition (review)Journal of the History of Philosophy 39 (4). 2001.This paper reviews Juha Sihvola, editor. Ancient Scepticism and the Sceptical Tradition.
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130We increasingly rely on AI-related applications (smart technologies) to perform tasks that would be simply impossible by un-aided or un-augmented human intelligence. This is possible because the world is becoming an infosphere increasingly well adapted to AI’s limited capacities. Being able to imagine what adaptive demands this process will place on humanity may help to devise technological solutions that can lower their anthropological costs.
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118Will ITentities be the next great technological revolution?The Philosophers' Magazine 34 (34). 2006.
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117The new grey powerPhilosophy and Technology 28 (3): 329-332. 2015.Grey power may be characterised as the ability to control events and people’s behaviour by influencing the influencers, behind the scenes. Grey power exists in every type of society and the two change together, as concauses, via a complex interchange of economic, technological and societal factors. This paper discusses the emergence of éminences grises in the modern digital age and the pressing need to gain a better understanding of their likely nature and development. The article concludes that…Read more
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116The internet: which future for organized knowledge - Frankenstein or Pygmalion, Part 2The Electronic Library 14 (1). 1996.This paper is the second half of an invited paper given by the author to the international conference, promoted by the UNESCO Philosophy Forum, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the organisation (Paris, 14–17 March 1995). The first half, which deals with a slightly different theme, is published as an Article earlier in this issue.
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114The grafted branches of the sceptical tree. "Noli altum sapere" and Henri Estienne's latin edition of Sexti Empirici Pyrrhoniarum Hypotyposeon libri IIINouvelles de la République des Lettres 1. 1992.The Latin translation of Sextus Empiricus’ ‘Outlines of Pyrrhonism’, published by Henri Estienne in 1562, are amongst the most influential texts in the history of scepticism. And yet, we still lack a complete and detailed study of their reception in modern times. Through investigation of the emblem on the frontispiece of the book, this paper argues that Estienne’s motivations for the publication should be interpreted as essentially anti-dogmatic and humanistic in nature.
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113L'epistemologia analitica e la natura della giustificazione epistemicaEpistemologia 18 (2): 233-268. 1995.
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111The Cambridge handbook of information and computer ethics (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2010.Information and Communication Technologies have profoundly changed many aspects of life, including the nature of entertainment, work, communication, education, healthcare, industrial production and business, social relations and conflicts. They have had a radical and widespread impact on our moral lives and hence on contemporary ethical debates. The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics, first published in 2010, provides an ambitious and authoritative introduction to the field, w…Read more
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110Technology’s in-betweenessPhilosophy and Technology 26 (2). 2013.One of the most obvious features that characterises any technology is its in-betweeness—comprising technologies that stand in-between human users and natural affordances (natural objects, processes, or phenomena). This paper analyses technologies on the basis of their first- second- or third-order nature, and discusses how Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are creating a new externality.
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