Abstract
In contrast to comparisons between human minds and computing machines, I propose to consider the " artificial intelligence " as a " intellectual technology ", which shapes and deforms our minds. If the digital revolution constitutes a mutation comparable to the emergence of alphabetic writing, as Nora and Minc already asserted in 1978, and if writing constitutes an " intellectual technology " that transforms our ways of thinking, as Goody showed in the 1970s, then the dazzling development of generative AI not only represents a technological and industrial revolution, but also ushers in a psychic, cognitive and cultural revolution.
These new " writing machines " mark a new stage in the automation of language, and one that raises a number of issues. If alphabetic writing gave rise to a " graphic reason ", I will argue that generative AIs run the risk of leading to a " computational unreason ", as probabilistic calculations take over the activities of interpretation and reflection.
To counter this risk, I will stress the need to design and develop hermeneutic and deliberative digital technologies that support thinking activities, rather than short-circuiting them. Using several examples, I will show that it is possible to mobilize " artificial intelligence " technologies to produce new spiritual instruments, in order to put digital automata at the service of new forms of intelligence.
Anne Alombert
Anne Alombert is a lecturer in contemporary philosophy at the University of Paris-VIII. Her research focuses on the relationship between life, technology and minds in contemporary philosophy, and on the social and political issues surrounding digital technologies and " artificial intelligence ". She is the author of Schizophrénie numérique (Allia, 2023), Penser l'humain et la technique (ENS Éditions, 2023), Le capital que je ne suis pas ! (Fayard, 2024) and Penser avec Bernard Stiegler (PUF, 2025).
