Meaningful Human Control and the Sense of Agency

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dc.contributor.advisorMecacci, G.
dc.contributor.advisorSantoni de Sio, S.
dc.contributor.authorTiebosch, J.P.
dc.date.issued2021-01-29
dc.description.abstractThis thesis seeks to reinforce the philosophical theory of Meaningful Human Control origi- nally devised by Santoni de Sio and Van den Hoven (2018), by providing empirical ground- ing to its concept of control. It does so by observing that Sense of Agency, an important cognitive measure of control, can provide empirical corroboration to the normative intu- itions underlying the theory of MHC. In particular, the notion that meaningful control can depend on reason responsiveness to distal reasons and intentions is supported using empirical research. Santoni de Sio and Van den Hoven's (2018) theory of MHC is based on two main conditions: tracking, the reason responsiveness condition, and tracing, the ownership condition. In an e ort to operationalise the concept of Meaningful Human Control, the concept of proximity of reason was introduced to the condition for reason responsiveness by Mecacci and Santoni de Sio (2019). Human agents, the authors state, can be meaningfully in control of a (partially) automated system even when their in uence on the systems behaviour is removed in space and time. This is contrary to classic notions of control, which focus on a direct, operational, relation between controllers and controlled systems. This thesis argues that Sense of Agency, as a cognitive measure of control, can serve to support Meaningful Human Control's conditions for control, and provide it with con rmation from an empirical cognitive standpoint. It does so by rst showing Sense of Agency to be an important cognitive indicator of human control, and then linking this to a collection of empirical research. This research consistently shows increased or sustained Sense of Agency in control scenarios where the goal/performance is prioritised over action-feedback. Thus supporting the use of proximity scale as an operationalisation of the tracking condition. A background on the theory of Sense of Agency and Meaningful Human Control is pro- vided, including the distinction between Judgement and Feeling of Agency by Synofzik et al.(2008), and the application of proximity of reason to the tracking condition by Mecacci and Santoni de Sio (2019). The position of using Sense of Agency as a cognitive indicator of human control is observed and defended, and then connected to the theory of Meaning- ful Human Control. Finally, empirical research showing increased or sustained Sense of Agency in control scenarios where the goal/performance is prioritised over action-feedback is discussed in the context of Meaningful Human Control. In doing so, an empirical foundation is provided for the normative intuitions of the proximity scale, and by extension those of Meaningful Human Control as a whole. Such empirical validation can support further research and potential future application of design guided by Meaningful Human Control in any eld where Meaningful Human Control is relevant, such as Automated Driving Systems (ADS) and Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS). In addition, empirical reinforcement of the theory of Meaningful Human Control can increase industry interest, and strengthen the in uence of Meaningful Human Control on policy makers, providing substantiation for the attribution of responsibility suggested by the theory.
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.ubn.ru.nl/handle/123456789/15802
dc.language.isoen
dc.thesis.facultyFaculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
dc.thesis.specialisationspecialisations::Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen::Artificial Intelligence::Bachelor Artificial Intelligence
dc.thesis.studyprogrammestudyprogrammes::Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen::Artificial Intelligence
dc.thesis.typeBachelor
dc.titleMeaningful Human Control and the Sense of Agency

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