The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Reshaping Human Consciousness: A Philosophical Psychology Perspective
TL;DR
It is found that AI is no lointelligenceew technology but active overwriting of the cognitive and psychocultural context in which people encounter new data modalities through new "intelligences".
Abstract
The very notion of consciousness has begun to transform from an abstract computation tool, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has morphed into a defining transformative agent that is remodelling the cognitive framework in which identity and decision-making occur at all human levels. Approaching both from the methodologically less selective angle of a Philosophical Psychology that attends separately to certain aspects and then weaves them into a fused together understanding, this study raises questions on how current AI-related advances influence our insights into consciousness, selfhood, agency, intentionality and cognition. Employing a qualitative conceptual research design based on philosophical inquiry together with a systematic interdisciplinary literature search (2015-2025 within Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, JSTOR, IEEE Xplore and PhilPapers), evidence from cognitive science, neuroscience and AI ethics was synthesised. The analysis revealed six significant emergent themes: • AI as cognitive augmentation and "second brain" • There is re-definition of consciousness and phenomenological experience • Selfhood and Privacy: Changing identities • Re-evaluations of human agency and moral accountability • Psychological effects of prolonged human - machine dialogue; and • The importance of a harmonised philosophical-psychological paradigm The results suggest that, although modern AI does not yet possess the subjective consciousness experience of humans, it is radically altering how people think, remember, decide and construct identity. AI operates more as a cognitive partner, which leads to urgent ethical questions of autonomy, authenticity and accountability. We find that AI is no lointelligenceew technology but active overwriting of the cognitive and psychocultural context in which people encounter new data modalities through new "intelligences". Key implications include the urgent requirement for adaptive curricula, ethically sound policy-making and anticipatory psychological practices to maintain human agency and critical thinking in the longer term.