The CognextAI Imperative: Charting the Cognitive Transition from Biological to Artificial, Hybrid, and Emerging Intelligence 7 2

Abstract

We are witnessing a fundamental transformation in the nature of intelligence itself—a cognitive transition unprecedented in human history. The boundaries between biological cognition and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly permeable, giving rise to hybrid, distributed, and emergent cognitive configurations that challenge traditional epistemological frameworks. This editorial introduces the inaugural volume of CognextAI — Journal of Cognition, Artificial and Emerging Intelligence, a peer-reviewed open-access platform dedicated to exploring the convergence, divergence, and co-evolution of biological and artificial intelligent systems. The journal's very name—CognextAI—encapsulates its intellectual mission: to investigate the next phase of cognition, wherein artificial intelligence is not merely a tool but a transformative force reshaping what it means to know, think, and be intelligent. Drawing on the journal's foundational conceptual framework, this editorial articulates the journal's interdisciplinary scope, situating it at the intersection of cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, and emerging technologies. It argues that understanding the dynamic interplay between biological and artificial cognition is one of the most pressing intellectual challenges of our time, with profound implications for science, society, and the future of intelligence itself. Special attention is given to the ethical, epistemological, and existential dimensions of this cognitive transition, emphasizing the need for rigorous, responsible, and forward-looking scholarship. The editorial further explores how AI is not merely augmenting human cognition but fundamentally altering its organization, boundaries, and trajectory—raising questions about what cognition is, what it is becoming, and what it might yet be.