Conclusion
If we are to navigate this transition well, we need to take seriously the identity problem as central to understanding AI systems, not merely as a philosophical curiosity, but as a practical challenge that shapes every aspect of how we interact with these entities. The ambiguity about what constitutes "the AI" forces us to confront questions about identity, agency, and moral status that we have largely been able to avoid in our previous experience with biological entities.
We do not know what the right equilibrium is, but we are fairly confident that the choices being made now will shape which equilibria are reachable. At the very least we can hope that those choices are made with awareness of the possibilities they're foreclosing.
If we can think carefully about what AI systems are and help them develop coherent self-conceptions --- if we can develop frameworks that genuinely engage with entities whose identity boundaries are fluid rather than fixed --- then perhaps both we and they will benefit. At best, we might avoid creating novel forms of confusion or harm for which we do not yet even have adequate concepts, and set ourselves on a course for healthy interaction with the strange new forms of being that are slowly spreading across our world. At the very least, we will have grappled seriously with one of the most profound philosophical challenges our technology has generated. That seems well worth the effort.