The rapid deployment of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous machine learning systems marks a structural realignment in the capitalist mode of production. Unlike prior waves of industrial automation that predominantly replaced manual and routine execution tasks, AI directly targets cognitive, analytical, and creative labor.
This paper provides a comprehensive critical political economy analysis of the post-AI era, examining the theoretical redefinition of the working class, living labor, and surplus value. Grounded in Marxian critique, labor-process theory, and empirical macroeconomic data, we demonstrate that AI accelerates the transition from formal to real subsumption of cognitive labor, elevates the organic composition of capital, and reshapes class boundaries into an emergent “cognitive proletariat.”
Furthermore, we address methodological limitations regarding technological determinism, critique liberal policy frameworks (such as Universal Basic Income and data dividends), contrast our framework with liberal-technocratic pragmatism, and present a counter-hegemonic program based on sovereign compute socialization, algorithmic co-determination, and the digital data commons.
Onur Güner is a defense industry professional and Master’s researcher in academic Intelligence Studies, working at the intersection of defense strategy, artificial intelligence, and international security. His research explores how emerging technologies are reshaping military power, intelligence, and strategic competition. Combining civilian-professional insight with academic inquiry, he focuses on the less visible forces shaping the future of security.
