1 | Term | Definition(s) | Benefits | Drawbacks | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Artificial | “made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural” | - intended to apply to constructed phenomena - well-known and widely used - allows for a broad set of possible features and material composition - distinguishes between biological or natural and non-biological or unnatural - can be used to refer to partly non-biological and partly biological phenomena | - alternate meaning may imply “fakeness” - may imply a dichotomy of value for natural and unnatural - may imply a filial or “paternal” relationship to humans - may convey status benefits to the constructors (e.g., for the prowess of invention) without parallel benefits for the constructed | Oxford Languages, 2021 |
3 | Cyber | “relating to or characteristic of the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality” | - embodiment not required - emphasis on computers, information, and virtual reality rather than on humans | - less commonly used - some associations may be negative (e.g., “cybersecurity,” “cyberwarfare”) - may sound outdated to experts and the general public | Oxford Languages, 2021 |
4 | Digital | “(of signals or data) expressed as series of the digits 0 and 1, typically represented by values of a physical quantity such as voltage or magnetic polarization” | - intended to apply to non-biological phenomena - illustrative of computer programs and algorithms - does not require embodiment | - not considerate of embodiment - implies “cold cognition,” mechanical properties, and automation - lower similarity to “humanness” may limit moral consideration | Oxford Languages, 2021 |
5 | Electronic | “(of a device) having or operating with the aid of many small components, especially microchips and transistors, that control and direct an electric current” | - intended to apply to non-biological phenomena - illustrative of technology | - close association with tools like clocks or game consoles may limit moral consideration - implies a material structure or composition | Oxford Languages, 2021 |
6 | Embodied | - Körner et al.: “the body, its sensorimotor state, its morphology, or its mental representation play an instrumental role in information processing” - OL: “provide (a spirit) with a physical form” | - applicable to various entities - includes mental and physical states, feedback between the two, and both perceptual and cognitive sources of information - higher similarity to “humanness” may increase moral consideration | - requires a material container or body - does not distinguish material composition - relationship to entity's role is unclear - difficult and sometimes nonsensical to pair with psychological features - may imply a dichotomy of value for embodied and non-embodied entities | Körner et al., 2015; Oxford Languages, 2021 |
7 | Non-biological | “not involving or derived from biology or living organisms” | - differentiates entities traditionally labelled as “living” from those traditionally labelled as “non-living” - removes the value judgment of “living” - not considered “fake” or “unnatural” - allows for a broad set of possible features and material composition - distinguishes between biological or natural and non-biological or unnatural | - defined in relation to biological entities - potentially meaningless in systems or worlds without any “biological” components - may preclude conceptions of hybrid biological and non-biological systems - difficult to apply to artificial entities derived from evolutionarily biological processes (e.g., whole brain emulations) - may be problematic in future scenarios with non-carbon-based biological lifeforms | Oxford Languages, 2021 |
8 | Synthetic | “(of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product” | - distinctly non-natural or non-biological | - defined in relation to “naturalness” - may imply “fakeness” - subject to value judgments about “naturalness” and “fakeness” | Oxford Languages, 2021 |
9 | Virtual | - “not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to do so” - “almost or nearly as described, but not completely or according to strict definition” | - does not require a specific material composition or embodiment - is commonly used and understood - is associated with conceptions of digital worlds or spaces | - exclusive of entities with a material body - may prompt people to think only of entities living in virtual environments that are less accessible and routinely salient (at least in the near-term) - can have multiple meanings that have different implications for moral consideration - is abstract and may make it difficult to form a concrete mental image of what it means - not distinctly nonhuman - subject to value judgments about the nature of reality and “fakeness” | Oxford Languages, 2021 |