The Artificial State: SF and the politics of the objective function in AI

The text analyzes artificial intelligence systems not through the prism of human desires, but as a political economy of purpose, where the key question is who establishes the metrics of success. Using science fiction as a laboratory for political theory, the author invokes the visions of Samuel Butler and Karel Čapek to show the evolution of the relationship between human and tool. Butler draws attention to the danger of infrastructural dependence, in which systems become essential for society's functioning. Meanwhile, the etymology of the word 'robot' (robota) reminds us that AI originates from the dream of a perfect worker devoid of claims. The article concludes that automation is not merely a technical problem, but an economic dilemma concerning the distribution of benefits and control over productive resources.