Can a machine have free will? The question sounds like science fiction — but Professor David Danks, who holds a distinguished professorship spanning philosophy, AI, and data science at the University of Virginia, thinks it’s one of the most important questions we face right now.

In this episode of Disagree With a Professor, hosts Peter McHugh, Lidia Zur Muhlen, and Makayla Castle sit down with Professor Danks to interrogate his central claim: that present-day AI systems possess roughly as much free will as human beings. His argument hinges on a key philosophical distinction — between freedom (the ability to have acted differently) and free will (the foundation of moral responsibility) — and on philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s influential argument that responsibility doesn’t actually require alternative possibilities.

The conversation covers a lot of ground. How much of what we value did we actually choose? Why do we make impulsive decisions we later regret, and do AI systems experience anything like that internal conflict? When a Waymo self-driving car causes an accident, who — or what — is on the moral hook? And what do we do about Silicon Valley’s relentless “can we build it?” mentality when the better question is whether we should?

Music: "Dispersion Relation" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)