Criticism of Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Optics
V Gorbunova Elena · Technologos · 2025
The article examines the philosophical aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) through the prism of the teachings of Avicenna, Descartes, and Kant. An analysis of Avicenna's teaching about the universals underlying human thinking allows for a deeper understanding of the limitations of modern technologies in reproducing abstract concepts. Avicenna believed that man is endowed with the ability to think universals, extracting general principles and applying them in various contexts. The ability to abstract, to operate with categories, allows a person to apply general principles in a variety of situations, which is the uniqueness of human intelligence. AI is still deprived of this ability, remaining within the limits of empirical factuality, basing its conclusions on statistical correlations, without going beyond the analysis of specific data, being unable to truly generalize and comprehend entities. Descartes' concept of intellectual intuition, reflecting the direct and undoubted comprehension of the truth, is opposed to AI methods, which are based on statistical models and algorithms devoid of genuine intuitive understanding. Intellectual intuition is the ability of the mind to directly grasp truths, such as mathematical axioms or logical principles, without relying on sensory perception or consistent reasoning. The forerunner of artificial (pure) intelligence can be considered Kant, who argues that the key characteristic of intelligence is the ability to self-awareness, active and creative participation in the processes of cognition, and who deprives the mind of conditioning by human sensory physicality. Kant introduces the concept of synthesis of a priori and a posteriori knowledge, which can be integrated into the algorithmic thinking of AI, allowing the creation of systems capable of self-learning and adaptation. The author emphasizes that despite the progress in the field of machine learning, AI is not yet able to achieve the deep forms of cognition inherent in the human mind capable of goal-setting, reflection, abstraction, and creative thinking. At the same time, attention is drawn to the philosophical and ethical aspects of the future development of a "strong AI" capable of surpassing human resources.