The Epigenetic Infosphere: A Phenomenological Framework for Cognitive Modulation in Informational Environments

Abstract This paper develops the concept of the epigenetic infosphere as a theoretical framework for analysing how contemporary informational environments modulate cognitive possibilities in selective, recursive, and non‑deterministic ways. The epigenetic infosphere—first introduced by Patrizia Diaco—describes how algorithms, platforms, and generative models shape what becomes visible, relevant, and culturally reproducible without determining specific contents. Rather than extending biological epigenetics, the concept offers a phenomenological and ecological account of how informational environments influence attention, meaning‑formation, and cognitive modulation. Within this framework, attention functions as the threshold through which cognitive potentials become actual acts, revealing how visibility and relevance operate as forms of informational power. The paper also examines how generative models increasingly act as autonomous epigenetic environments, intensifying the recursion between information production and information modulation. Through conceptual analysis and concrete cases, the study proposes a non‑deterministic interpretation of the relationship between cognition, technology, and power in the digital age.