Cybernetic Muse: Hannah Arendt on Automation, 1951–1958

Abstract

Almost no attention has been given to Hannah Arendt’s discussion of automation despite her claim that it was of almost unparalleled importance. This article demonstrates how Arendt’s conception of political action came to depend on her assessment of American technological trends following nuclear fission, especially automation and cybernetics. It contextualizes Arendt’s engagement with American interlocutors, showing how this informed her conception of political action in The Human Condition (1958). It is intended to provide some groundwork for further exploration of Arendt’s consideration of how modern technology and politics correlated.