List, Christian (2025) Can AI systems have free will? [Preprint]

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Abstract

While there has been much discussion of whether AI systems could function as moral agents or acquire sentience, there has been very little discussion of whether AI systems could have free will. I sketch a framework for thinking about this question, inspired by Daniel Dennett’s work. I argue that, to determine whether an AI system has free will, we should not look for some mysterious property, expect its underlying algorithms to be indeterministic, or ask whether the system is unpredictable. Rather, we should simply ask whether we have good explanatory reasons to view the system as an intentional agent, with the capacity for choice between alternative possibilities and control over the resulting actions. If the answer is “yes”, then the system counts as having free will in a pragmatic and diagnostically useful sense.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID List, Christian
Keywords:	Artificial intelligence; free will; agency; autonomy; intentional stance; choice making; alternative possibilities; Daniel Dennett
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Action Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence > AI and Ethics Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence General Issues > Decision Theory General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Depositing User:	Christian List
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2025 12:52
Last Modified:	08 Aug 2025 12:52
Item ID:	26166
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Action Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence > AI and Ethics Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence General Issues > Decision Theory General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Date:	8 August 2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26166

Available Versions of this Item

• Can AI systems have free will? (deposited 05 Dec 2024 13:08)
  • Can AI systems have free will? (deposited 11 Mar 2025 13:17)
    • Can AI systems have free will? (deposited 08 Aug 2025 12:52) [Currently Displayed]

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