Speech Act Gaps and Counter-Speech
Abstract
Speech produced by artificially intelligent systems is likely to become more ubiquitous in the future. This article examines potential costs of this trend, and explores ways of avoiding them. It is suggested that artificial speech may generate a “speech act gap”: an apparent speech act that cannot be attributed to anyone. This may be problematic for various reasons, but one which is set out in the article is that speech act gaps will render counter-speech — forms of speech aimed at nullifying the negative effects of dangerous speech — less effective. If we are to avoid the negative effects that may result from dangerous artificial speech, alternative responses may be needed.
