Beyond Alignment: AI as Hormē-Enhancement Tools in a Thermodynamic Framework

Abstract The discourse on Artificial Intelligence is paralyzed by the “agency mistake”: the assumption that complex, goal-directed behavior implies agency, leading to intractable pseudoproblems like value alignment and control. This paper reframes the debate from the ground up. First, it establishes from computer science and physics that AI systems are deterministic state machines, executing scripts that are causally closed and semantically empty. Second, drawing on the Neo-Pre-Platonic Naturalism (NPN) framework, it defines agency via Hormē: the thermodynamic, constitutive striving of a far-from-equilibrium system to persist. AI fails the Hormē test; it is a tool, not an agent. The real danger is not misaligned AI agency, but the obfuscated amplification of human Hormē. We propose the Hormē-Enhancement Paradigm: the ethical purpose of AI is to augment human capacities to navigate reality. This dissolves the pseudoproblems, redirects focus to accountability and tool safety, and offers a clear, productive future for the ethical development of intelligent technology. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Agency, Hormē, Thermodynamics, Determinism, AI Ethics, Tools, Value Alignment, Neo-Pre-Platonic Naturalism