Abstract

Is it good to have a body? This question seems interesting, but hard to get a grip on, because all familiar welfare subjects have bodies. But we may soon be able to make AI welfare subjects that do not. This prospect helps us imagine what a disembodied life might be like, and compels us to assess its value. I argue that it is good to have a body—both for humans and for AIs. Embodiment provides what I call _physical agency_, constituted by sensory awareness and the capacity to directly and intentionally affect the physical world. I argue that physical agency is an intrinsic welfare good by considering cases in which it is absent or limited and by situating it in a broader picture of the good life. I assess the implications for philosophy of disability, and defend an analogy from human to AI welfare.