Intellectual Virtues and Artificial Intelligence

Can machine learning provide a scientific understanding of the world?

Abstract

The pervasive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the contemporary scientific method raises a crucial question: can AI provide a scientific understanding of the world? In this paper, we will answer this question by interpreting the concept of scientific understanding as an intellectual virtue inherent to the person. This interpretation is fruitful, as it allows us to transcend the conceptual horizons of science, offering a fertile ground for discussion for all those areas in which AI is used for epistemic purposes.