Up until recently, people believed that their minds made them special. Then artificial intelligence was introduced. Its task-solving capabilities, which are sometimes more efficient than those of humans, offer a promise and an insult to humanity. This makes it the fourth offence to humans after the Copernican Revolution, Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s discovery of the unconscious. Have humanist ideas outlived themselves? Rüdiger Safranski reminds us that, unlike algorithms, humans have a consciousness, perceive emotions, can reflect on their own behaviour and decide freely. These are all major philosophical topics. Philosophy can give us points of reference to help us find our place, also in the world of the future.
The Fourth Offence
The human mind under the shadow of artificial intelligence
