The overlooked legacy of the Lwów–Warsaw school in shaping modern AI

AI may seem like a modern marvel, but its foundations stretch back to early 20th-century philosophical thought—particularly to the Lwów–Warsaw School of Philosophy. In a recent blog by Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of Diplo, he highlights how this influential movement, established by Kazimierz Twardowski and active between the world wars, made groundbreaking contributions to logic, semantics, and analytical philosophy—fields that underpin today’s AI systems.

Despite being overshadowed by more famous contemporaries like the Vienna Circle, the Lwów–Warsaw School cultivated thinkers whose work continues to shape how machines process language and make decisions. Among the most influential figures was Alfred Tarski, whose formal definition of truth laid the groundwork for natural language processing (NLP), enabling AI to understand and generate human language.

Another key contributor, Jan Łukasiewicz, developed many-valued logic—a system that goes beyond simple true/false decisions and allows machines to reason through uncertainty, essential in complex tasks like autonomous driving or medical diagnostics. The school’s importance isn’t just technical.

Its strong emphasis on analytical rigour also offers tools for navigating AI’s growing ethical concerns—ranging from fairness in algorithmic decisions to broader questions about consciousness and societal impact. Though these philosophical aspects are less often discussed, they’re crucial for ensuring AI development remains responsible and aligned with human values.

The intellectual legacy is rarely acknowledged in mainstream AI history. Yet, as Kurbalija emphasises, AI’s roots are deeper and more diverse than we often realise. Revisiting the Lwów–Warsaw School highlights how past ideas can still guide us in shaping the technologies of tomorrow.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.