The Rise of Synthetic Entities and the Reconstruction of the Concept of Personhood

Critical Perspectives on James Boyle’s The Line

Abstract

This review explores James Boyle’s The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood (2024), a work that confronts the profound challenges AI poses to the long-standing foundations of Western legal philosophy. Rather than a simple summary, this analysis engages deeply with Boyle’s propositions through the frameworks of moral sentiment and the classical reciprocity of rights and duties. The review highlights a pivotal concern: while Boyle identifies human empathy as a catalyst for expanding legal personhood, such sentiments are increasingly vulnerable to “technical engineering,” which may distort our moral intuition. Moreover, the inherent complexity of AI—the “inscrutability paradox”—threatens to create a “responsibility gap.” This raises the essential question of whether AI personhood could inadvertently serve as a “legal shield” for capital, distancing power from accountability. Ultimately, this review argues that the discourse on AI personhood must move beyond the ethics of inclusivity. It calls for a transition toward a rigorous defense of democratic accountability. Our humanity, the review concludes, is not defined by how machines mimic us, but by our wisdom in maintaining a social contract where rights are never detached from duties.