Cogent Arts & Humanities

Techno-ethics: On the morality of, and human experience in, genAI

Technology is championed for its capacity to be efficient and objective, ushering in new economic opportunities and societal benefits while feeding into a culture of relying on genAI to conduct a range of important life tasks, and in some cases, replace human labor. Large language models are, for instance, believed by many to provide users with information quickly and without the “cultural baggage” of human subjectivities. In the case of chatbots, however, the programming of genAI is guided by moral principles and human biases, such as cultural relativism and political ideologies. Accordingly, technology operates behind a veneer of trust and objectivity while curating information, facilitating decisions, and producing ideas that are inherently subjective and based on untransparent programming inputs. The current article collection explores the ways in which the human experience shapes, and is shaped by, technology; more specifically, the article collection interrogates the ethical aspects of using genAI.

Societies are dependent on genAI, which has accelerated numerous ethical challenges pertaining to the relationship that humans have with technology. For instance, the human experience is increasingly mediated through algorithms of which ordinary members of society have little to no control. This situation raises numerous important ethical questions. What does it mean to possess agency in a world structured by genAI? Can genAI be trusted to advance human causes in the domains of creativity and culture? Such questions point to growing pressures to narrow the divide between digital literacy and technological advancements, regulate the automation of online information, and interrogate the ways in which machines are used to address public health issues, to name a few. While the ethics literature on genAI is growing, it is largely made up of disparate silos of knowledge with few interdisciplinary discussions occurring. The current article collection aims to narrow this gap in knowledge.

The primary subject of investigation is the ethics of using genAI, which can be broadly expressed as a concern for the intersubjectivity that is achieved as a result of the relationship that humans have with technology. Although this subject is connected to a wide range of theoretical, empirical, and practical issues and concerns, the article collection can be broken into eight subtopics: communication; culture, media, and film; cultural heritage; digital humanities; history; literature, linguistics, and criticism; philosophy and religion; visual and performing arts. Within this body of knowledge, example issues and concerns that may be investigated by contributors of this article collection include, but are not limited to, the ethics of communicating with/to genAI, genAI in a post-humanist world, the ethics of advancing ontological knowledge with genAI, the historical perspectives to understanding the ethics of genAI, and ethical standards in the professions.

Keywords

1. genAI
2. technology
3. AI
4. ethics
5. morality

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 04 December 2026.

Please contact Kristen Brida at [email protected] with any queries and requests for discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Please select Philosophy from the list of available sections during submission. Failure to select the appropriate Article Collection or Section name can result in delays.

About the Guest Advisor

Christopher Jenks is professor and chair of intercultural communication at Utrecht University. Christopher specializes in the study of language in society and is particularly interested in the political and cultural implications of technological advancements. He is author and editor of numerous books on said topics.

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Jenks does not have any Conflicts of Interest to disclose.