[SydPhil] UOW Agora Speaker Series — Katsunori Miyahara (Hokkaido University) — Artificial agency and the requirement of individuality (Mar 12)

[Elena Walsh]

Dear all,


The School of Liberal Arts at the University of Wollongong will welcome
A/Prof. Katsunori Miyahara (Hokkaido University) to the Agora Speaker
Series this Thursday, March 12. Details are here
<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/qzQSC0YKPvig743WZiwfDS9zRWz?domain=sola-events.github.io> (and below). All most
welcome.


*Katsunori Miyahara*

Hokkaido University

*‘Artificial agency and the requirement of individuality’*

12 March 2026 · 3.30–5pm · 24-203

University of Wollongong, Keiraville campus


*Abstract*

Debate regarding the potential for AI systems to possess genuine agency is
gaining significant traction, with some theorists arguing that current
systems already qualify as agents (Butlin 2023; Dung 2025). I present a
novel challenge to the attribution of artificial agency, focusing
specifically on AI chatbots powered by Large Language Models (LLMs). While
typical debates explore whether AI possesses specific capacities definitive
of agency, I argue that AI chatbots fail a more fundamental ontological
requirement: they lack individuality. To establish this, I demonstrate that
AI chatbots fail the test of formal atomicity: unlike true individuals,
dividing an AI chatbot invariably yields more chatbots of the same kind.
Consequently, I argue that the first necessary step towards genuine
artificial agency must be the development of artificial systems with
intrinsic individuality.


*Bio*

Katsunori Miyahara, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Center for Human
Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience (CHAIN) at Hokkaido
University, specializing in the philosophy of cognitive science,
phenomenology, and the philosophy and ethics of AI. Following a PhD from
the University of Tokyo (2015), Miyahara held postdoctoral fellowships at
Harvard University (2016–18) and the University of Wollongong (2018–20).
His recent publications include “Enacting epistemic respect: reconciling
care and respect” (Hayakawa & Slote eds., *Care Ethics and Beyond*, 2026),
“Narrative imprisonment” (*Topoi*, 2025, with Shogo Tanaka), and “Empathy
through listening” (*Journal of the American Philosophical Association*,
2025, with Seisuke Hayakawa). He serves as an editor for *Philosophy of AI*,
an editorial committee member for *Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences*,
and a council member for the International Society for the Philosophy of
the Sciences of the Mind (ISPSM).


Best wishes,

The School of Liberal Arts
<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/WwLDCgZ0N1iwoN2WpSoh2S4XNsx?domain=uow.edu.au>

sola-events at uow.edu.au