This chapter focuses on the analysis of intelligent systems (IS) and artificial intelligence (AI). The author argues that intelligent systems neither imitate human reason nor possess a mind (psyche), but rather implement a fundamentally new mode of cognition—a direct mathematical representation of reality, mediated by computational technology and aimed at revealing its quantitative structures and their interconnections and relationships. In IS, mathematics functions not as an auxiliary tool, but as an independent method of primary investigation, enabling the detection of deep relationships between entities of the world that are inaccessible to perception and intuition. Unlike consciousness, which creates meaningful mental representations, intelligent systems perform logical and mathematical operations on large datasets—potential representations of the world. This makes them a new scientific instrument, capable of discerning hidden patterns within “reality-in-itself.” However, intelligent systems do not create artificial reason: the term AI reflects a cultural illusion arising from the incorrect interpretation of the impressive results produced by intelligent systems. Nevertheless, the output of intelligent systems—texts, images, and videos—is internalized by humans, enters culture, and gives rise to new entities within objective mental reality. Intelligent systems thus become active agents of its transformation and increase humanity’s functional dependence on digital tools. The threat that AI poses to society does not lie in AI itself, but in the potential use of intelligent systems by a socially irresponsible human mind.