Artificial Intelligence and the Crisis of Digital Civilization in the Light of Oswald Spengler’s Philosophy

Анотація

The development of artificial intelligence in the 21st century has become not only a new stage of technological progress, but also a serious challenge to the contemporary understanding of the place of humans in the world. The automation of cognitive processes significantly alters the structure of social and cultural life, prompting philosophy to rethink the issues of the autonomy of technology and its impact on humans. The purpose of the article is to conduct a comprehensive philosophical analysis of artificial intelligence as a form of modern technology through the prism of Oswald Spengler’s philosophy, as well as to determine its impact on humans, culture, and civilization. Methods. The methodological framework of the study is based on philosophical-anthropological, cultural, and comparative approaches. The paper employs methods of historico-philosophical analysis, critical analysis of current research in the field of digital ethics and philosophy of technology, as well as the method of conceptual generalization. Results. The study argues that AI marks a shift from automating physical labor to automating cognition itself, with three principal consequences: weakening of critical thinking through cognitive offloading, the realization of "autonomous technology" in Ellul's sense, and the dominance of efficiency over humanistic values under conditions of digital governance. Conclusions. The study confirmed the relevance of Oswald Spengler’s philosophy of technology for analyzing the digital age. The idea of “betrayal of technics” is manifested in the problems of control over AI, techno-nationalism, and the militarization of digital space. The need to develop human-centric AI models aimed at preserving human intellectual autonomy is substantiated.