This article examines the mid-twentieth-century debate on automation through the lens of Hannah Arendt’s reflections on the human condition. Starting from The Human Condition (1958) and the lesser-known lecture On the Human Condition (1964), the paper reconstructs Arendt’s analysis of automation as the culmination of the modern scientific and technological trajectory. The study shows that Arendt does not oppose automation as such, but rather questions its anthropological and political premises and consequences when it reinforces the dominance of the animal laborans and reduces human activity to biological and consumptive processes. By engaging with Arendt’s distinction between leisure (otium) and vacant time, the article highlights the risk that automation may generate not freedom, but a new form of necessity rooted in consumption and temporal emptiness. Finally, the paper argues that Arendt’s reflections remain highly relevant for understanding current developments in artificial intelligence, pointing toward the urgent need to rethink political, educational, and economic institutions capable of sustaining meaningful forms of action and freedom.
Agli albori dell’IA. Automazione e condizione umana in Hannah Arendt
Emanuele Pili
2025
Abstract
This article examines the mid-twentieth-century debate on automation through the lens of Hannah Arendt’s reflections on the human condition. Starting from The Human Condition (1958) and the lesser-known lecture On the Human Condition (1964), the paper reconstructs Arendt’s analysis of automation as the culmination of the modern scientific and technological trajectory. The study shows that Arendt does not oppose automation as such, but rather questions its anthropological and political premises and consequences when it reinforces the dominance of the animal laborans and reduces human activity to biological and consumptive processes. By engaging with Arendt’s distinction between leisure (otium) and vacant time, the article highlights the risk that automation may generate not freedom, but a new form of necessity rooted in consumption and temporal emptiness. Finally, the paper argues that Arendt’s reflections remain highly relevant for understanding current developments in artificial intelligence, pointing toward the urgent need to rethink political, educational, and economic institutions capable of sustaining meaningful forms of action and freedom.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
