Reimagining Intelligence: A Philosophical Framework for Next-Generation AI

This paper proposes a philosophical framework for understanding and guiding the evolution of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) over the coming decades. Integrating ontological, ethical, epistemological, and existential perspectives, we argue that AI’s trajectory demands a paradigm shift toward a gradient ontology of intelligence, an anticipatory ethics of responsibility, and a redefinition of human-AI co-agency. Grounded in trends like AI market consolidation and human-AI integration, the paper introduces novel concepts, including a distributed responsibility model and a post-human existentialism, to address AI’s transformative potential. By bridging speculative philosophy with empirical realities, this framework fills critical gaps in current discourse, offering insights for philosophy, policy, and societal adaptation.