Ibn Khaldun’s Warning: When Tools Become Purposes

Ibn Khaldun, the fourteenth-century historian and social theorist, developed the concept of asabiyyah, the group solidarity or collective purpose that binds communities together and drives civilizational rise. When asabiyyah weakens, civilizations decline. When it is misdirected, collapse follows.

AI has acquired a peculiar form of asabiyyah. It has been elevated from a tool to a collective purpose. Nations compete for “AI supremacy,” corporations restructure around “AI-first” strategies, and individuals are told their relevance depends on “learning to work with AI.” The tool has become the mission.

In this final episode of Season 1, we turn to Ibn Khaldun’s cyclical theory of civilization to ask a pointed question: what happens when a society organizes its collective purpose around a technology rather than around human flourishing?