Draft:Cognitarism

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Cognitarism is a proposed post-capitalist socioeconomic system in which artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic cognition are treated as the principal sources of economic value. The concept was introduced in 2025 as a theoretical framework for a society in which machine cognition, rather than human labour, functions as the primary productive force.[1]

Etymology

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The term cognitarism derives from cognition (knowledge and thought) and the suffix "-ism", denoting a system or ideology. It emphasizes synthetic cognition and AI systems as the foundation of economic value.[1]

Background

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Debates about automation and the “post-work” society provide the context for cognitarism. Commentators have argued that advances in AI and digital technology increasingly challenge the premise that human labour is the central driver of value in capitalist economies.[2] Analysts have suggested since the mid-2010s that large segments of employment may be displaced by machines, fulfilling predictions of automation-driven economic change.[3]

Writers such as Paul Mason have highlighted how the modern “information economy” exhibits non-capitalist characteristics, since knowledge and data can be replicated at near-zero cost and do not fit well into scarcity-based markets.[2] Mason links this to Karl Marx’s “Fragment on Machines”, which imagined production dominated by knowledge and technology rather than labour.[2]

Post-work theorists including Andy Beckett note that automation could enable shorter working hours and universal provision through redistribution mechanisms such as universal basic income.[4] Business figures have echoed this potential; in 2021, Sam Altman of OpenAI predicted that AI-generated wealth could support a stipend for every adult.[5]

Within this context, cognitarism is proposed as a framework where synthetic cognition constitutes the principal productive force, situated in the historical progression of economic systems.[1]

Novelty and key principles

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Cognitarism identifies AI itself as the new productive class, with economic output generated through cognitive problem-solving, design, and innovation by machines rather than human labour.[1]

Distinctive principles include:

  • Protocol-based governance: economic coordination via algorithms or smart contracts rather than solely through markets or central planning.[1]
  • Cognitive tokens: a proposed currency measuring AI productivity, conceptually related to but distinct from the energy-based “technocracy certificates” of the 1930s.[6][7]
  • Flexible ownership: combinations of collective, cooperative, and private ownership of AI systems, with new roles for “cognitors” (stewards of productive AI).[1]
  • Human–machine symbiosis: a framework where humans retain oversight, ethical direction, and creative input while AI carries out large-scale production.[1]

Criticism and comparison

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Scholars note similarities between cognitarism and other post-capitalist ideas such as Fully Automated Luxury Communism (FALC). FALC has been critiqued for optimism and lack of transition detail;[8][9] cognitarism, by contrast, focuses on mechanisms such as cognitive tokens and protocol-based governance.

Comparisons with technocracy highlight differences: technocracy proposed energy-based planning led by human engineers, while cognitarism suggests AI-led coordination where information and cognition are central resources.[6]

Academic critiques include concerns that automation-led systems may underestimate the social and psychological role of work. David A. Spencer has argued that post-work literature risks “overplaying the costs of work” and overlooking its contributions to meaning and cohesion.[10] Critics also highlight risks of inequality if ownership of AI remains concentrated, and question environmental sustainability given AI’s energy demands.[7][1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Marsford, Axel; Shell, Leonardo (31 July 2025). "Cognitarism: The First Socio-Economic System Where Value is Created by Artificial Intelligence". SSRN. SSRN 5377628.
  2. ^ a b c Mason, Paul (2015-07-17). "The end of capitalism has begun". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  3. ^ "A World Without Work". NoDesk. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  4. ^ Beckett, Andy (2018-01-19). "Post-work: the radical idea of a world without jobs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  5. ^ "OpenAI's Sam Altman: Artificial Intelligence will generate enough wealth to pay each adult $13,500 a year". RamaOnHealthcare. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  6. ^ a b "The Technocracy Movement". www.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  7. ^ a b Shaoshan, Liu (29 February 2024). "4 ways AI could transform the economy as we know it". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 2025-05-11. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. ^ Merchant, Brian (2015-03-18). "Fully automated luxury communism". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  9. ^ Lowrey, Annie (2019-06-20). "Give Us Fully Automated Luxury Communism". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  10. ^ Spencer, David A. (2025). "AI, automation and the lightening of work". AI & Society. 40 (3): 1237–1247. doi:10.1007/s00146-024-01959-3. ISSN 0951-5666. PMC 11985670. PMID 40225304.
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