The Dilemmas of Moral Autonomy in the Transfer of Human Consciousness to AI
AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society October 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1609/aies.v8i3.36770 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that consciousness transfer to AI creates unresolved dilemmas of moral autonomy: secular Kantian approaches presume autonomy can be preserved but perpetuate Cartesian dualism, while Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox perspectives contend that the body-soul unity of the person makes such transfer conceptually impossible. The authors propose that clarifying moral agency in a technologically altered world requires interdisciplinary work that includes theology. |
Abstract
This paper examines the dilemmas of moral autonomy in the context of the transfer of human consciousness to AI, focusing on the transhumanist archetype Homo Evolutus. Through comparative analysis, the study explores two distinct paradigms: the secular approach, rooted in Kantian philosophy, which considers that moral autonomy can be preserved through transfer; and the religious perspective (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox), which argues that the human person is an essential unity of body and soul, making the transfer conceptually impossible. The study highlights three central dilemmas: the authenticity of digital moral reflection, the distribution of responsibility between the biological and digital selves, and the limits of autonomy in human-AI integration. The secular paradigm perpetuates Cartesian dualism, while the theological perspective asserts that consciousness transfer raises fundamental ontological problems that cannot be solved by secular approaches alone. The conclusion emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach that includes theological aspects to clarify what it means to be a moral agent in a technologically altered world.