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Philosophy of science for machine learning: Core issues and new perspectives (edited book)Springer. forthcoming.
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12From ethics to epistemology and back again: informativeness and epistemic injustice in explanatory medical machine learningAI and Society 1-12. forthcoming.In this paper, we discuss epistemic and ethical concerns brought about by machine learning (ML) systems implemented in medicine. We begin by fleshing out the logic underlying a common approach in the specialized literature (which we call the _informativeness account_). We maintain that the informativeness account limits its analysis to the impact of epistemological issues on ethical concerns without assessing the bearings that ethical features have on the epistemological evaluation of ML systems…Read more
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488This article asks the question, ``what is reliable machine learning?'' As I intend to answer it, this is a question about epistemic justification. Reliable machine learning gives justification for believing its output. Current approaches to reliability (e.g., transparency) involve showing the inner workings of an algorithm (functions, variables, etc.) and how they render outputs. We then have justification for believing the output because we know how it was computed. Thus, justification is conti…Read more
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24The Non-theory-driven Character of Computer Simulations and Their Role as Exploratory StrategiesMinds and Machines 33 (3): 487-505. 2023.In this article, I focus on the role of computer simulations as exploratory strategies. I begin by establishing the non-theory-driven nature of simulations. This refers to their ability to characterize phenomena without relying on a predefined conceptual framework that is provided by an implemented mathematical model. Drawing on Steinle’s notion of exploratory experimentation and Gelfert’s work on exploratory models, I present three exploratory strategies for computer simulations: (1) starting p…Read more
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34The ethics and epistemology of explanatory AI in medicine and healthcareEthics and Information Technology 24 (4): 1-4. 2022.
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28Response to our reviewersJournal of Medical Ethics 47 (7): 514-514. 2021.We would like to thank the authors of the commentaries for their critical appraisal of our feature article, Who is afraid of black box algorithms?1 Their comments, suggestions and concerns are various, and we are glad that our article contributes to the academic debate about the ethical and epistemic conditions for medical Explanatory AI. We would like to bring to attention a few issues that are common worries across reviewers. Most prominently are the merits of computational reliabilism —in par…Read more
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88Responsibility beyond design: Physicians’ requirements for ethical medical AIBioethics 36 (2): 162-169. 2021.Bioethics, Volume 36, Issue 2, Page 162-169, February 2022.
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179Who is afraid of black box algorithms? On the epistemological and ethical basis of trust in medical AIJournal of Medical Ethics 47 (5). 2021.The use of black box algorithms in medicine has raised scholarly concerns due to their opaqueness and lack of trustworthiness. Concerns about potential bias, accountability and responsibility, patient autonomy and compromised trust transpire with black box algorithms. These worries connect epistemic concerns with normative issues. In this paper, we outline that black box algorithms are less problematic for epistemic reasons than many scholars seem to believe. By outlining that more transparency …Read more
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59Dissecting scientific explanation in AI (sXAI): A case for medicine and healthcareArtificial Intelligence 297 (C): 103498. 2021.
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24Epistemic Standards for Participatory Technology Assessment: Suggestions Based Upon Well-Ordered ScienceScience and Engineering Ethics 26 (3): 1709-1741. 2020.When one wants to use citizen input to inform policy, what should the standards of informedness on the part of the citizens be? While there are moral reasons to allow every citizen to participate and have a voice on every issue, regardless of education and involvement, designers of participatory assessments have to make decisions about how to structure deliberations as well as how much background information and deliberation time to provide to participants. After assessing different frameworks f…Read more
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27Dark Data as the New Challenge for Big Data Science and the Introduction of the Scientific Data OfficerPhilosophy and Technology 33 (1): 93-115. 2020.Many studies in big data focus on the uses of data available to researchers, leaving without treatment data that is on the servers but of which researchers are unaware. We call this dark data, and in this article, we present and discuss it in the context of high-performance computing facilities. To this end, we provide statistics of a major HPC facility in Europe, the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart. We also propose a new position tailor-made for coping with dark data and general dat…Read more
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48What is a Simulation Model?Minds and Machines 30 (3): 301-323. 2020.Many philosophical accounts of scientific models fail to distinguish between a simulation model and other forms of models. This failure is unfortunate because there are important differences pertaining to their methodology and epistemology that favor their philosophical understanding. The core claim presented here is that simulation models are rich and complex units of analysis in their own right, that they depart from known forms of scientific models in significant ways, and that a proper under…Read more
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16A Formal Framework for Computer Simulations: Surveying the Historical Record and Finding Their Philosophical RootsPhilosophy and Technology 34 (1): 105-127. 2019.A chronicled approach to the notion of computer simulations shows that there are two predominant interpretations in the specialized literature. According to the first interpretation, computer simulations are techniques for finding the set of solutions to a mathematical model. I call this first interpretation the problem-solving technique viewpoint. In its second interpretation, computer simulations are considered to describe patterns of behavior of a target system. I call this second interpretat…Read more
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13A Formal Framework for Computer Simulations: Surveying the Historical Record and Finding Their Philosophical RootsPhilosophy and Technology 34 (1): 105-127. 2019.A chronicled approach to the notion of computer simulations shows that there are two predominant interpretations in the specialized literature. According to the first interpretation, computer simulations are techniques for finding the set of solutions to a mathematical model. I call this first interpretation the problem-solving technique viewpoint. In its second interpretation, computer simulations are considered to describe patterns of behavior of a target system. I call this second interpretat…Read more
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27Computer Science and PhilosophyPrincipia: An International Journal of Epistemology 22 (2): 203-227. 2018.There is a widely extended image of computer software as some sort of ‘black box,’ where it does not matter how it internally works, but rather what sort of results are obtained given certain input values. By approaching computer software this way, many philosophical issues are hidden, neglected, or simply misunderstood. This article discusses three units of analysis of computer software, namely, specifications, algorithms, and computer processes. The aim is to understand the scientific and engi…Read more
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34Dark Data as the New Challenge for Big Data Science and the Introduction of the Scientific Data OfficerPhilosophy and Technology 1-23. 2019.Many studies in big data focus on the uses of data available to researchers, leaving without treatment data that is on the servers but of which researchers are unaware. We call this dark data, and in this article, we present and discuss it in the context of high-performance computing facilities. To this end, we provide statistics of a major HPC facility in Europe, the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart. We also propose a new position tailor-made for coping with dark data and general dat…Read more
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89Grounds for Trust: Essential Epistemic Opacity and Computational ReliabilismMinds and Machines 28 (4): 645-666. 2018.Several philosophical issues in connection with computer simulations rely on the assumption that results of simulations are trustworthy. Examples of these include the debate on the experimental role of computer simulations :483–496, 2009; Morrison in Philos Stud 143:33–57, 2009), the nature of computer data Computer simulations and the changing face of scientific experimentation, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Barcelona, 2013; Humphreys, in: Durán, Arnold Computer simulations and the changing fa…Read more
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781Ciencia de la computación y filosofía: unidades de análisis del softwarePrincipia 22 (2): 203-227. 2018.Una imagen muy generalizada a la hora de entender el software de computador es la que lo representa como una “caja negra”: no importa realmente saber qué partes lo componen internamente, sino qué resultados se obtienen de él según ciertos valores de entrada. Al hacer esto, muchos problemas filosóficos son ocultados, negados o simplemente mal entendidos. Este artículo discute tres unidades de análisis del software de computador, esto es, las especificaciones, los algoritmos y los procesos computa…Read more
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1699This book addresses key conceptual issues relating to the modern scientific and engineering use of computer simulations. It analyses a broad set of questions, from the nature of computer simulations to their epistemological power, including the many scientific, social and ethics implications of using computer simulations. The book is written in an easily accessible narrative, one that weaves together philosophical questions and scientific technicalities. It will thus appeal equally to all academ…Read more
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8La especificidad de la creencia religiosa, algo distinto de la razón. Wittgenstein y los ‘juegos de lenguaje’Revista de Filosofia Aurora 28 (43): 279. 2016.En este trabajo presento algunos argumentos para sostener que la creencia religiosa es un lenguaje distinto al de la ciencia. Para esto hago uso de los trabajos de Wittgenstein sobre ‘juegos de lenguaje’ y creencia religiosa. Sostengo que a pesar de que se haga un uso de términos sintácticamente idéntico, la dimensión pragmática de dichos términos es la que determina en qué juego de lenguaje se está. Concluyo mostrando un caso donde se hace un uso inadecuado del lenguaje de un sistema y que se a…Read more
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46Computer simulations and the changing face of scientific experimentation (edited book)Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2013.In this volume, scientists, historians, and philosophers join to examine computer simulations in scientific practice. One central aim of the volume is to provide a multiperspective view on the topic. Therefore, the text includes philosophical studies on computer simulations, as well as case studies from simulation practice, and historical studies of the evolution of simulations as a research method.
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890Nociones de simulación computacional: simulaciones y modelos científicosArgumentos de Razón Técnica 18 87-110. 2015.
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14Observation and Objectivity: Two Conflicting Notions at the Basis of the Circularity ArgumentConstructivist Foundations 12 (1): 20-21. 2016.Open peer commentary on the article “Circularity and the Micro-Macro-Difference” by Manfred Füllsack. Upshot: I reconstruct two core notions, “observation” and “objectivity,” in order to raise some questions regarding their interpretation and relevancy for the target article’s main thesis. The main concern with “observation” is that its scope and applicability are not clear, while the notion of “objectivity” could be in conflict with other concepts and assumptions accepted by the author.
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362The practice turn and its effect on science studies: Léna Soler, Sjoerd Zwart, Michael Lynch and Vincent Israel : Science after the practice turn in the philosophy, history, and social studies of science. New York and London: Routledge and Taylor Group, 2014, 354pp, $145.00 HBMetascience 25 (2): 285-288. 2016.
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649Eric Winsberg y la epistemología de las simulaciones computacionalesArgumentos de Razón Técnica 20. 2017.En este trabajo presento un estudio sobre el estado del arte de la llamada ‘epistemología de las simulaciones computacionales’. En particular, me centro en los varios trabajos de Eric Winsberg quién es uno de los filósofos más fructíferos y sistemáticos en este tema. Además de analizar la obra de Winsberg, y basándome en sus trabajos y en el de otros filósofos, mostraré que hay buenas razones para pensar que la epistemología tradicional de la ciencia no es suficiente para el análisis de las simu…Read more
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589Varying the Explanatory Span: Scientific Explanation for Computer SimulationsInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 31 (1): 27-45. 2017.This article aims to develop a new account of scientific explanation for computer simulations. To this end, two questions are answered: what is the explanatory relation for computer simulations? And what kind of epistemic gain should be expected? For several reasons tailored to the benefits and needs of computer simulations, these questions are better answered within the unificationist model of scientific explanation. Unlike previous efforts in the literature, I submit that the explanatory relat…Read more
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1Computer simulations as a technological singularity in the empirical sciencesIn Jim Miller, Roman Yampolskiy, Stuart Armstrong & Vic Callaghan (eds.), The technological singularity: A pragmatic perspective, . forthcoming.
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415Thomas Reid on Causation and Scientific ExplanationJournal of Scottish Philosophy 14 (1): 51-67. 2016.We argue that there is no tension between Reid's description of science and his claim that science is based on the principles of common sense. For Reid, science is rooted in common sense since it is based on the idea that fixed laws govern nature. This, however, does not contradict his view that the scientific notions of causation and explanation are fundamentally different from their common sense counterparts. After discussing these points, we dispute with Cobb's and Benbaji's interpretations o…Read more
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33Simulaciones computacionales: un análisis de dos concepciones antagónicasPrincipia: An International Journal of Epistemology (April): 125-140. 2017.
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Delft University of TechnologyLecturer
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