When Does a Computer Speak the Truth? The Problem of IT and Validity Claims

We are frequently confronted with statements that are transmitted or created by computers. The question in this paper is whether the use of computers in these statements affects their truth value. In order to analyze this question, the first part of the paper discusses the theory of truth and validity claims put forward by Habermas. In the second part, the discussion is extended to the role that computers can play in this theory. Computers not only influence our perception of truth, they can also play an important role in transmitting communication which in turn can affect what is regarded as true. The effect of computers in this role on truth claims is highly ambivalent. An even more complex topic is the question whether computers can create true statements. The result of this discussion is that computers lack certain characteristics that would allow them to participate in a Habermasian discourse and that, therefore, they cannot be said to produce valid claims to truth.