Alexandru Angheluș publishes “Transformation” — AI, human autonomy and the cognitively assisted Earth

Coperțile edițiilor română și engleză ale lucrării „Transformarea” de Alexandru Angheluș

Alexandru Angheluș has published “Transformation”, a work examining artificial intelligence beyond its conventional role as a technological application and analysing it as an emerging cognitive layer positioned between human beings and reality.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly involved in filtering information, generating content, recommending options, interpreting complex environments and assisting human and institutional decision-making.

Against this background, Transformation starts from a fundamental question: not whether artificial intelligence will change the world, but whether that transformation will remain intelligible, governable and compatible with the material limits of Earth.

The work approaches AI from a multidisciplinary perspective that connects technology, human cognition, organisational transformation, cybersecurity, governance, geopolitics and the physical resources required to sustain increasingly complex artificial intelligence infrastructures.

Artificial intelligence as a cognitive layer

AI systems no longer operate exclusively as isolated technological tools. They increasingly mediate the relationship between individuals, organisations and the environments in which decisions are made.

Search engines prioritise information. Recommendation systems influence choices. Generative systems create text, images, software and synthetic media. Decision-support platforms assist organisations in evaluating risks, allocating resources and defining courses of action.

As this mediation expands, artificial intelligence gradually becomes part of the cognitive infrastructure through which reality is perceived, interpreted and acted upon. Transformation explores the consequences of this transition.

The central issue is therefore not simply the technological performance of artificial intelligence systems, but the changing relationship between capability, vulnerability and autonomy.

The cognitively assisted Earth

One of the concepts introduced in the work is the cognitively assisted Earth – a state in which artificial intelligence systems become increasingly integrated into the operational environment of human and institutional life.

However, artificial intelligence is not immaterial. Its development and operation depend on physical infrastructures and resources, including:

  • energy;
  • water;
  • computing infrastructure and data centres;
  • semiconductors and critical minerals;
  • telecommunications infrastructure;
  • large volumes of data;
  • specialised human labour.

The expansion of artificial intelligence must therefore also be understood as a material transformation. The question of AI development cannot be separated from energy availability, supply-chain resilience, access to strategic resources, environmental constraints and geopolitical competition.

The cognitively assisted Earth is consequently both a technological and a physical system.

HumanAI – the artificially mediated human

A second analytical concept developed in Transformation is HumanAI. The notation describes the individual whose capabilities, vulnerabilities and decision processes are increasingly mediated by artificial intelligence systems.

AI can significantly extend human capability. It can improve access to information, accelerate analysis, support learning, automate repetitive activities and assist decision-making in highly complex environments.

At the same time, increased reliance on artificial systems introduces new vulnerabilities. When individuals delegate information retrieval, interpretation or decision-making to AI systems, their autonomy can either increase or decrease. The direction of that transformation depends on several factors, particularly competence, degree of delegation and mechanisms of verification.

A person capable of understanding how AI systems operate, evaluating their outputs and independently verifying critical information may use artificial intelligence as a powerful cognitive amplifier. Without those safeguards, the same technology may produce dependency, cognitive outsourcing or an illusion of informed decision-making.

OrgAI – the artificially mediated organisation

The same transformation is taking place at organisational level. Transformation introduces the concept of OrgAI to describe organisations whose operational capabilities, vulnerabilities and decision processes are increasingly mediated by artificial systems.

AI is progressively entering areas such as risk assessment, cybersecurity operations, financial analysis, logistics, intelligence, compliance, customer interaction, strategic planning and executive decision support. This changes organisational capability, but also the nature of organisational risk.

An organisation that delegates critical analytical or operational functions to artificial intelligence must understand what has effectively been transferred to the machine and what remains under human control. Governance therefore becomes essential.

The key question is no longer simply whether an organisation uses artificial intelligence, but how much authority it delegates to artificial systems, what controls exist around those systems and how their outputs are verified.

Security in the era of synthetic intelligence

The work also addresses the transformation of cybersecurity in an environment increasingly populated by synthetic intelligence. Generative AI changes both defensive and offensive capabilities.

Artificial intelligence can support security teams in detecting anomalies, analysing large datasets, identifying vulnerabilities and accelerating incident response. At the same time, the same technologies can support increasingly sophisticated phishing campaigns, automated social engineering, synthetic identities, deepfakes, disinformation operations and scalable manipulation.

Cybersecurity therefore increasingly extends beyond the protection of systems and networks. It also requires protecting the decision environment itself. When humans and organisations operate in information environments containing machine-generated identities, content, arguments and evidence, the ability to establish authenticity, provenance and trust becomes a fundamental security function.

AI governance and geopolitics

Transformation also examines how different political and regulatory environments are responding to artificial intelligence. The work includes European Union and United States case studies, together with chapters addressing AI governance, the geopolitics of artificial intelligence and the strategic implications of access to computing infrastructure, energy, data and critical technological resources.

Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important component of national capability, economic competitiveness and geopolitical influence. The development of advanced AI systems therefore cannot be analysed independently from technological sovereignty, semiconductor supply chains, energy infrastructure, cyber resilience and strategic autonomy.

From prediction to control

Rather than attempting to predict a single technological future, Transformation explores multiple prospective scenarios. The objective is to understand what mechanisms may allow individuals, organisations and institutions to maintain meaningful control while benefiting from increasingly capable artificial systems.

The analysis therefore focuses on questions such as: How much cognitive activity should be delegated to machines? What capabilities must humans retain? How can AI-generated information be verified? How should organisations maintain accountability when decisions are increasingly AI-assisted? What infrastructures and resources are required to sustain global artificial intelligence development? And ultimately, how can technological progress remain compatible with human autonomy and the physical limits of the planet?

Continuing the ADA educational programme

Transformation continues the research and educational direction developed through the ADA programme – Analyse, Decide, Act. The programme focuses on strengthening the ability of individuals and organisations to operate effectively in increasingly complex digital and informational environments.

This direction previously produced the guide “Artificial Intelligence and the Manipulation of Human Perception”, which examined how artificial intelligence, synthetic content and automated persuasion mechanisms can influence perception, beliefs and human decision-making.

With Transformation, the analysis expands from the manipulation of information environments toward the broader transformation generated by artificial intelligence across individuals, organisations, infrastructure and society.

Access “Transformation”

The work is available in both English and Romanian, open access on Zenodo under CC BY-ND 4.0.

Topics: artificial intelligence · AI governance · cybersecurity · AI Act · NIS2 · human–AI interaction · cognitive security · geopolitics of AI · digital transformation · open access.

More of the department’s work is listed on the research and innovation page.