AI Subjectivity Without Embodiment

This paper employs Hume’s bundle theory of perception, the primacy of embodied impressions, and the centrality of passions to examine the ontological status of artificial intelligence. It argues that AI merely simulates the functional form of Humean perceptual association, yet lacks the embodied experience and passions that constitute genuine human subjectivity. This ontological boundary redefines ethical and political accountability in algorithmic systems: responsibility inheres in human actors rather than machines. By Humean empiricism, this paper rethinks the human and the political in the age of AI, rejecting the myth of AI Subjectivity while affirming the irreplaceability of embodied human agency.