Ancient thought experiment can guide our thinking on latest technologies

The Ship of Theseus thought experiment is a long-standing problem in philosophy that has been debated for centuries.

This philosophical debate has been brought back into public discourse by the rise of artificial intelligence and its ubiquitous and dramatic hold on society since the public release of ChatGPT 3 in August 2020.

The thought experiment goes like this: Suppose you have a wooden ship that is slowly damaged over time. Individual wooden planks can be replaced with fresh wood and the rest of the ship will keep going. Over a long enough time, every plank on the ship may get damaged and need replacement.

The question is: Once every bit of wood on the ship has been replaced, is it still the same ship?

Now, instead of physical objects, apply this idea to a more abstract object such as an intellectual work. This is where things get really murky.

The protection of intellectual works is a diverse and robust area of law. This coverage is not so clear, however, when it comes to the use of AI in creative works.

Read the opinion column written by Austin Jones of Purdue Fort Wayne in The Journal Gazette (subscription required).