The Obsolescence of the Human? "Artificial Intelligence", Automation, and the Narcissistic Wound

The University of Rouen Normandy’s Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing, together with its Chair Holder, Marcello Vitali-Rosati, and its Scientific Director, Tony Gheeraert, will host a series of lectures devoted to the theories and practices of scholarly publishing in the humanities. The series will take place from Thursday, 25 June to Tuesday, 30 June 2026.

On Monday, 29 June at 2:00 p.m., Marcello Vitali-Rosati will deliver the following lecture:

“The Obsolescence of the Human? ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ Automation, and the Narcissistic Wound”

Another lecture on AI? Why, if everyone is already talking about it—often without saying very much? Perhaps because the real issue lies precisely there: in this sudden agitation of thought and speech, both seemingly under threat, and in the verbose defence of long-standing privileges. Why is it so difficult to speak about machines without speaking about ourselves, or to avoid feeling personally challenged by a mere calculation?

Following the successive blows dealt by Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud, could artificial intelligence represent the latest great narcissistic wound inflicted upon humankind? No longer at the centre of the universe, nor even at the centre of creation, human beings may no longer occupy the centre of their own language. Yet behind both the naïve fascination with and the hostile rejection of the automaton lies a failure to recognize the human activity concealed by the chatbot: unpaid labour, immense profits, and exponentially growing costs. Why, then, do we continue to turn to the machine in this endlessly renewed attempt to understand—or perhaps to avoid understanding—ourselves? Perhaps because this is what gives our intelligence all of its artificial charm.

As seating is limited, advance registration is recommended. All lectures will also be streamed online.