This book brings together current debates in critical theory and the normative implications of contemporary technologies such as artificial intelligence. It explores how political theories of recognition can illuminate debates about the ethics of AI, social media, and other modern technologies. It also examines how theories of recognition may need to be adapted to encompass technologically mediated social relations and to guide our understanding of technology’s role in contemporary society. Contributors from a range of fields trace the possible role and implications of recognition theory for contemporary technology and consider whether new or different forms of recognition are needed in the age of AI and related technologies. The book is of interest to researchers and students in political philosophy, critical theory, applied ethics, technology ethics, and media studies.

Dr. Rosalie Waelen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bonn, Germany. She holds an MA in Philosophy from KU Leuven, Belgium, and an MA in Applied Ethics from Linköping University, Sweden. She received her PhD from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, in 2023. Her doctoral research explored how recognition theory and other strands of critical theory can illuminate current debates in AI ethics, particularly in the context of computer vision applications. Through this edited volume, she further develops this research on the relevance of recognition theory for AI ethics and contemporary philosophy of technology.