Technological Brave New World? Eschatological Narratives on Digitalization and their Flaws

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have made autonomous technical systems a reality that can replace human performance in more and more aspects and tasks, often with better quality and higher speed. This has changed the perspective from the fascination of visionary technology to the question of what will happen to humans as technology gets better and better. Improvement and replacement narratives about the future of humans circulate primarily in trans- and post-humanism, but also engage mass media and church academies. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview and analysis of the recent literature to strengthen and criticize the thesis that in many debates on new technologies and AI across different disciplines (from computer science to philosophy, futurism and the broader public), teleological positions have been taken, according to which the technological perfection constitutes the historical goal of man and his destiny.