Jörg Noller
Abstract This paper presents a Kantian critique of artificial intelligence (AI) that shifts the focus from the technological capabilities of AI systems to the conditions of human-AI interaction. Drawing on Immanuel Kant’s concept of enlightenment as the “emergence from self-incurred immaturity,” the paper argues that digital technologies such as AI increasingly mediate—and potentially undermine—our rational autonomy. Through an analysis of AI as a novel form of human-technology relation, termed ‘extension relationship,’ the paper argues that uncritical use of AI risks developing what can be called digital immaturity. This critique is grounded in a Kantian account of medial reason and common sense ( sensus communis ), emphasizing the public use of reason as a normative ideal for digital maturity. The paper concludes by proposing a model of digital enlightenment in which responsible AI development is guided by human purposes and moral autonomy, rather than algorithmic determinism or passive consumption.