CFP: Rethinking the Practice of Thinking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

1st Praxis International Conference  

September 11-12, 2025 

Covilhã, Universityof Beira Interior, Portugal 

Organized by Praxis – Center for Philosophy, Politics andCulture (University of Beira Interior/University of Évora) 

“Rethinking the Practice of Thinking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence” 

Keynote speakers: 

– Astrid Wagner (Institute of Philosophy of the CSIC) 

– Luca Possati (University of Twente) 

– Pieter Lemmens (Radboud University)  

The rapid transformation caused by new language and image production technologies has sparked debate about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the lives of individuals, society and its institutions. In light of these developments, it is imperative to ask: how can we think about thinking itself in this era in order to respond to the challenges posed by AI? 

This question requires us to explore in more depth not only what ‘AI’ is, but also how it differs from human intelligence and thinking. It has often been emphasized how intelligence and thought are marked by consciousness, subjectivity, intentionality or the relationship with the body. Can the same be applied to machines? For example, can we talk about consciousness in the case of AI? What exactly is consciousness, in its cognitive and affective dimensions? On the other hand, can we say that AI machines think? What does it mean to think? And can we talk about thinking in general terms, given that there are different ways of thinking (as Hannah Arendt pointed out in The Life of the Mind)?Indeed, we can consider how utilitarian, abstract, reflective, and other types of thought relate to AI.More generally, we can try to determinewhat characterizes intelligence in the case of AI. Is it an extension of human intelligence, or merelya set of operations that correspond to thoseof ‘natural’ intelligence? To what extent does the distinction itself make sense, especially if we take into account that our intelligence and artificial intelligence are historically constituted? These are some of the questions that show how the era of artificial intelligence forces us to rethink the notions of intelligence, thought and rationality. 

In this context, it is also relevant to consider how AI technologies may be transforming thinking practices (just as these were transformed by the invention of writing, calculating machines, computers, etc.). Traditional ways of thinking now coexist with new ways of relating to language and images. In many cases, information becomes more directly available and structured. As a result, we exercise some thinking practices less while engaging more in new operations that are more profoundly mediated by technology.To what extent can the new possibilities opened upby AI subvert and eliminatethe effort we put into thinking, renderingus idle or passive(as in Plato’s critique of the invention of writing)? Does this change affect human thought itself? For instance, does the incorporation into our thinking of results whose origin we do not fully understand disrupt the unity of thought that, according to Kant,must be able to accompany all our representations? 

On the other hand, we can also question whether AI processes produce knowledge or are nothing more than large-scale plagiarism, to use Noam Chomsky’s term. And does natural intelligence do anything different, as seems to be assumed? We can wonder if it makes sense to talk about an opposition, or whether this is just a digital reconfiguration of the productive imagination, as Alberto Romele argues. 

These questions also prompt us to examine the effects of AI on decision-making, deliberation and governance processes within democratic societies. Could AI’s fast-paced world of information undermine institutional stability, without which our coexistence could fall into a Hobbesian state of nature? Or, on the contrary, should we take AI as an appropriate tool to face the challenges of democracy? If digital slavery atrophies our free will, the knowledge society may contribute to strengthening it. 

Through these and other questions, we want to think not only about the risks of the changes taking place but also about possibilities of controlling or using AI and the new thinking practices it enables in a beneficial way – while simultaneously discussing whether it is the human being who should adapt to the transformations created by machines, or whether the machines should instead be developed for human beings. 

In a broader sense, we are interested in questions such as:  

– the relevance of the concepts of intelligence, thought and rationality to understanding AI and vice versa; 

– the relationship of human intelligence and AI with consciousness, intentionality and corporeality (embodiment); 

– the various forms of human thought (or rationality, intelligence) and how they relate to AI; 

– phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches to understanding intelligence and AI;  

– thought as practice, thought practices and their transformation through AI; 

– the ethical challenges associated with AI, both in general and in areas such as pedagogy, medicine, and law, among others; 

– the problems raised by AI for governance and democracy (e.g. the democratization of AI, threats to democracy, AI as a new Leviathan). 

Paper proposals should be sent to [email protected] by May 31st. They should include an abstract (250-350 words) and a brief biographical note about the authors (up to 100 words). We also welcome panel proposals (3 participants per panel, preferably mixed gender). Notifications of acceptance and rejection will be sent by July 1st. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes and may be delivered in either English or Portuguese.