Franz Kafka, Artificial Intelligence and the Paradoxical Recognition of Selfhood

Bibliographic Data

ID20249358
AuthorsLeah Tomkins (0000-0003-1799-119X, University of the West of England, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume14
Issue2
Pages37
Publication date2025-02-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumanities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/h14020037
OpenAlexW4407742134
LanguageEN
References cited19

At the centenary of the death of Franz Kafka (1883–1924), this paper explores the complexities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) through the lens of Kafka’s literary and professional work, especially those relating to the dynamics of recognition and misrecognition. Through Kafkan eyes, both philosophical and technological hankerings after recognition and its connection with the notion of the ‘true self’ are thrown into sharp relief, whether this ‘truth’ is related to authenticity or to accuracy. This encourages us to challenge some of the core assumptions of our relationship with systems and tools, including (1) the taken-for-granted formula of recognition being good, misrecognition being bad; (2) the suggestion that aligning AI with human values will make it, and therefore us, safer and more secure; and (3) the assumption that the masters are in charge in the master/slave dialectic that is often used to express the relationship between humans and technologies. The paper references three of Kafka’s most famous works, The Trial, The Castle and In the Penal Colony, in ways that are accessible to those new to Kafka. More seasoned Kafka enthusiasts will be able to see and contextualise the paper’s themes and provocations within these works, and extrapolate to his other writings

Cognitive science · Psychoanalysis · Franz Kafka Literary Studies · Philosophy · Psychology

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