Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Advanced General Intelligence (AGI): Are they merely trends, and what ideologies drive their development?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Advanced General Intelligence (AGI): Are they merely trends, and what ideologies drive their development?

Professor Rainer Mühlhoff, a mathematician, philosopher, and programmer at the University of Osnabrück, has raised concerns about the relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and socio-political developments. In his book, "Artificial Intelligence and the New Fascism," published in 2025, Mühlhoff argues that AI, when combined with existing social dynamics, carries significant risks of enabling technocracy and fostering conditions that can resemble or support fascist tendencies in society.

Mühlhoff contends that AI systems, framed as objective, infallible, and data-driven authorities, often gain a quasi-mystical status in public discourse and governance. This fosters a form of technological fetishism, where society excessively places trust and decision-making power in AI technologies, potentially sidelining democratic deliberation and human judgment.

The professor also points out that AI-driven decision-making can accelerate the rise of technocracy, where experts and algorithms hold disproportionate influence over social, economic, and legal processes. This risks undermining political accountability and democratic participation, as opaque AI systems enforce decisions that may not be easily scrutinized or contested.

Mühlhoff critically examines how AI facilitates extensive surveillance and social control through data extraction, predictive policing, and behavioral monitoring. Such capabilities, if unchecked, can enable authoritarian governance structures reminiscent of fascist regimes, characterized by centralized control, suppression of dissent, and manipulation of populations via technology.

By automating and mechanizing social relations, Mühlhoff warns AI technologies might contribute to a dehumanized society, where individuals become mere data points or algorithmic categories. This erosion of human subjectivity can pave the way for political ideologies that exploit fear, conformity, and exclusion—tendencies often found in fascist movements.

Mühlhoff emphasizes the importance of embedding AI development within frameworks of critical ethics, transparency, and democratic control. Without active societal engagement and regulation, AI’s integration risks reinforcing hierarchies of power and enabling technocratic or fascist tendencies instead of fostering emancipation and justice.

It is essential to note that the idea of "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) has been a central part of AI ideologies since the 1950s, repeatedly pushed by AI researchers and industrialists with new breakthroughs in AI technology. However, the goal of developing AGI has never been achieved, and it is not scientifically proven that AGI will ever be possible.

Mühlhoff also argues that the terms used when discussing AI, like "learn" or "decide," are anthropomorphizing and lead to the attribution of human qualities to machines. He believes that the distinction between machine and human intelligence is the bare minimum and often prefers to speak of "machine intelligence" rather than AI.

Fascism, according to Mühlhoff, is a political form that affirms violence as a means to resolve political conflicts, including symbolic violence like verbal or internet violence. He warns against using the term fascism only with historical reference and emphasizes that a fascism in the present may not look exactly like the Nazis.

The current defamation campaign around Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf's election to the Federal Constitutional Court is an example of fascist politics, Mühlhoff suggests. The term "disruption" suggests that existing conditions are to be shattered so that powerful players can seize even more power in the resulting uncertainty and chaos.

Mühlhoff does not suggest using the terms tech ideology, fascism, and technocracy synonymously, but argues that tech ideologies can lead to a fascism and have similarities with historical fascism. The utopian societal visions of tech ideologues, such as transhumanism, cyberlibertarianism, and the "Dark Enlightenment," are primarily the creation of a worldview that allows adherents to engage in politics, often anti-democratic and illiberal.

Despite his professional experience as a programmer and management consultant, Mühlhoff uses AI relatively little in his personal life but has a lot of contact with AI systems in his research. He believes that the underlying understanding of "disruption" is that it benefits the already powerful, but it is not the general understanding.

In summary, Mühlhoff's work highlights the need for critical reflection and democratic oversight in the development and application of AI. By emphasizing the potential risks of AI in enabling technocracy and fostering conditions that can resemble or support fascist tendencies, Mühlhoff calls for a more balanced approach to AI integration, one that prioritizes democratic values, transparency, and ethical considerations.

1. Professor Mühlhoff's book, "Artificial Intelligence and the New Fascism," published in 2025, discusses AI's role in socio-political developments and argues that AI, when combined with existing social dynamics, carries significant risks of enabling technocracy and fostering conditions that could resemble or support fascist tendencies.
2. Mühlhoff contends that AI-driven decision-making can accelerate the rise of technocracy, where experts and algorithms hold disproportionate influence over social, economic, and legal processes, potentially undermining political accountability and democratic participation.
3. By automating and mechanizing social relations, AI technologies might contribute to a dehumanized society, where individuals become mere data points or algorithmic categories, eroding human subjectivity.
4. Mühlhoff emphasizes the importance of embedding AI development within frameworks of critical ethics, transparency, and democratic control to prevent AI's integration from reinforcing hierarchies of power and enabling technocratic or fascist tendencies.

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