Implementing Wisdom. Machines, Phronesis, and the Good Life

The main problem of AI Ethics seems to be the responsibility of governments, managers, and programmers to implement general rules so that machines are neutral and fair. However, this is a partial view of ethics, because it has a top-down approach which overlooks the infinite variety of human life, as well as the multidimensionality of moral consciousness. I therefore suggest a top-down approach by referring to virtue ethics, where morality is related to the whole life a person and not just to a specific actions or competence. After a short description of the standard top-down approach, the article sketches the virtue ethics model based on Aristotle’s phronesis and asks if phronesis can be implemented in machines. Algorithmic deep learning can help us better understand and use practical judgement, but only if we have cultivated our personal wisdom in the meantime.