Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra
Spiritual force will spontaneously influence the collective - Theodor Adorno does not "modify" Antonio Gramsci in the sense of a direct scholarly update—as there is no record of direct correspondence between them—b...
In 2026, the consensus among critical theorists is that AI does not merely "fulfill" the Frankfurt School's prognosis of an administered society—it accelerates it into a new, automated phase where the "Culture Industry" is no longer just a top-down factory, but a self-generating, feedback-looping infrastructure.
The following thinkers are currently at the center of this "cauldron," capturing how AI has overtaken traditional critical theory:
1. Evgeny Morozov: Beyond "Solutionism" to "Sovereignty"
Morozov is arguably the most prominent critic bridging the Frankfurt School's "critique of instrumental reason" with modern AI.
- Techno-Feudalism vs. Sovereignty: In his recent 2025 and 2026 work, Morozov argues that the world now runs on "raw computing power," and to surrender control of these models is to surrender political sovereignty.
- Critique of Solutionism: He remains the primary voice against "solutionism"—the belief that complex social problems can be solved with a simple algorithmic fix—which he views as the ultimate realization of Horkheimer and Adorno's "instrumental rationality".
2. Shoshana Zuboff: The Architect of Surveillance Capitalism
Zuboff's framework remains foundational in 2026 for understanding AI as a tool of behavioral modification.
- The "Instrumentarian" Power: She captures the shift from the "Authoritarian" personality (Adorno’s focus) to an "Instrumentarian" power that does not seek to terrorize the individual but to "tune, herd, and condition" them through AI-driven nudges.
3. Byung-Chul Han: The "Burnout" of the Digital Subject
Han (though occasionally criticized for his pessimism) is widely cited for his analysis of auto-exploitation in the age of AI.
- The Transparency Society: He argues that the surveillance Adorno feared has been replaced by a "voluntary transparency" where individuals use AI and digital platforms to optimize themselves, leading to a "burnout" that is the logical conclusion of Marcuse's "one-dimensional man."
4. Yuk Hui: The Search for "Technodiversity"
Hui is a critical figure at the moment for those looking for a way out of the Frankfurt School’s bleakness.
- Cosmotechnics: He challenges the Western "universal" view of technology (which the Frankfurt School critiqued) by proposing "technodiversity"—the idea that different cultures can develop their own unique AI and technological "reason" rather than following a singular, dominating global path.
5. Emerging Institutional Hubs
The Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and the Institute of Philosophy (Venice/London/Hong Kong) have become key 2026 nodes for this debate.
- Reasoning and Agency: The 2026 Philosophy of AI Summer School is a primary venue for investigating how AI challenges traditional concepts of "rationality" and "agency" that were central to Habermas and Adorno.
- AI Ethics Conferences: Multiple global summits in Frankfurt throughout 2026 (such as the International Conference on AI, Machine Learning, and Data Science Ethics) are actively re-interpreting Frankfurt School themes like alienation and reification within the context of generative AI.
- GoogleAI
The tension between Sri Aurobindo’s "Integral Yoga" and modern Hindutva suggests that ontology (the nature of being and consciousness) remains the primary battlefield in Indian thought, even as a massive technological transformation occurs in the background.
The appearance of being "oblivious" to the tech scenario is not a result of ignorance, but rather a clash over what fundamentally defines the human future: external technological mastery versus internal spiritual evolution.
1. The Ontological Divide
- Hindutva's Cultural Ontology: Hindutva focuses on a civilizational and cultural ethos rooted in a "sacred geography" and a collective identity. Its primary goal is the protection and political consolidation of this identity.
- Aurobindonian Evolutionary Ontology: Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy is anchored in a "Supramental transformation"—an evolutionary "jump" beyond the current human mental state. For him, the nation is a "soul-entity" whose goal is not mere political dominance but the spiritual regeneration of humanity.
2. Technology as a "Surface" vs. "Substance"
The debate remains focused on ontology because both sides view technology through different lenses:
- Instrumentalism in Hindutva: Hindutva often employs modern technology as a powerful instrument for organization, narrative control, and national development. In this view, technology is a tool to manifest a pre-existing cultural truth.
- Evolutionary Challenge in Aurobindo: In Sri Aurobindo’s view, the human intellect (and by extension, the AI it creates) is an "inherently incapable" steering wheel that cannot reach perfection on its own. He warned that India might copy the West’s "material interest" and "crude forms" of progress, forgetting its own spiritual law.
3. Why Ontology is "Overpowering" in 2026
In 2026, as AI approaches "human-like" capabilities, the question of what constitutes a human being has become more urgent than the tech itself.
- The Post-Human Question: Sri Aurobindo’s concept of the "Superman" (a more evolved spiritual race) directly competes with the Silicon Valley/Post-Humanist vision of a "Transhuman" (a technologically augmented human).
- Spiritual Sovereignty: While the state focuses on digital sovereignty, the Aurobindonian perspective emphasizes spiritual sovereignty—the idea that India's true "Swaraj" (self-rule) is only realized when she acts as a spiritual guide for the world.
4. Convergence in Institutions
Despite the ideological tension, some 2026 initiatives attempt to bridge this gap:
- Vedic Knowledge & Tech: Universities like AURO University and the Sri Aurobindo Yoga and Knowledge Foundation are actively researching the integration of Vedic knowledge with modern sciences like IIT Bhilai and IIT Madras.
- National Education Policy (NEP): Sri Aurobindo’s "Integral Education" is being framed in 2026 as a spiritual foundation for India's modern educational reforms, attempting to synthesize "Indian wisdom" with global professional standards.
- GoogleAI
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