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The research explores Habermas's critical perspective on digital technologies and their influence on democratic action.

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March 18, 2026Open Access

Habermas as a thinker against Google's "Habermas Machine"

Key Points

The research explores Habermas's critical perspective on digital technologies and their influence on democratic action.
Analysis of Habermas's theoretical framework regarding communicative action.
Examination of his critiques of technocracy and digital ideologies.
Discussion of the implications of Artificial Intelligence in societal contexts.
Habermas highlighted the challenges posed by digital technologies to democratic discourse.
He recognized the potential dangers of technocratic ideologies, culminating in his critique of the Habermas Machine.
The work underscores a historical shift in the public sphere influenced by digital transformation.

Abstract

Jürgen Habermas passed away on Friday 14 March 2026 at the age of 96. He was the worthy successor to the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School and a great thinker on democratic politics and communicative action, or indeed on democratic politics as communicative action. Furthermore, he was one of the last great thinkers of the social-historical bridge between the analogue and digital ages and, as a critical theorist, he was particularly perceptive regarding the impact of digital technologies on the public sphere, tracing contemporary social transformations. Paradoxically, in 2024, towards the end of his life, he fell victim to the technocratic ideology he himself had criticised, when Google's DeepMind unveiled an Artificial Intelligence model named the Habermas Machine'.

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Habermas as a thinker against Google's "Habermas Machine"

Key Points

Abstract

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