Economics and Politics in the Age of AI: Towards a Political Concept of Technological Innovations

Technological advancements in digital technologies like AI raise societal concerns about the instrumentalization and datafication of human life. In order to understand the level of analysis that is required to consider these societal concerns, we first explore the role of innovations in the disruption of the World. Subsequently, we zoom in on the economic dimension of technological innovations as the explanatory factor for societal concerns. Although we acknowledge the intricate relation between technology and economics in the capitalist economic system, we reject the intrinsic relation between technology and economy that is assumed by philosophers like Marcuse and Stiegler. Our hypothesis is that the relation between economics and technology is not intrinsic and should be disconnected in order to open a new political perspective on technological innovation. We develop such a political concept of technological innovation and provide a criterion to consider and address the societal concerns these technologies raise.