AI Expands Human Cognitive Potential and Creativity

The pie isn't getting cut into smaller pieces but expanding in unexpected ways.

Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

Key points

• AI expands human creativity and cognition, acting as a tool for amplification, not replacement.
• History shows innovation creates new roles and industries, growing opportunities, not diminishing them.
• Like the selfie, unforeseen AI applications will open new forms of human expression and achievement.

Innovation has always sparked a blend of excitement and anxiety. With each major technological leap comes a familiar set of fears—concerns that machines will replace humans, automation will render jobs obsolete, or new tools will reduce creativity to mere algorithms. Yet, time and again, these fears have been proven wrong. From the steam engine to the internet, innovation has not diminished humanity's role; rather, it has expanded it, creating new opportunities and unlocking unprecedented forms of expression. Today, as we stand at the brink of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, similar concerns are resurfacing—this time striking at the very core of what makes us human: cognition. For the first time in history, it seems that human thought itself could be on the "obsolescence chopping block." The question looms: Will AI and large language models (LLMs) shrink human roles into smaller and smaller pieces, leaving us isolated in a world where machines dominate?

I don’t believe so. In fact, I argue the opposite. AI, far from reducing humanity’s relevance, will expand our circle of cognition, creativity, and achievement. And while some may fear that AI will fragment human roles, history suggests that innovation typically grows the pie, creating opportunities that are yet to be fully realized or understood.

A Tool for Augmentation, Not Replacement

Throughout history, technological innovations have often been met with skepticism, particularly when it comes to the perceived displacement of human labor or creativity. But the reality is that innovations serve as amplifiers of human potential. Take photography, for example. When the camera emerged in the 19th century, it might have been thought to threaten portrait painting, a prestigious art form that had been the exclusive domain of skilled painters. However, rather than extinguishing portraiture, photography expanded visual storytelling in ways previously unimaginable. It didn’t reduce the importance of art—it made it more accessible, diverse, and multifaceted.

AI is following a similar trajectory. LLMs and creative tools may automate some tasks, but they also unlock new possibilities for human expression. In industries from healthcare to creative arts, AI is less about replacing human input and more about augmenting it. In fact, it allows people to achieve more in less time, shifting their focus from repetitive, mechanical tasks to higher-order, creative, and empathetic work.

This collaborative potential between humans and machines suggests that AI will be a tool for cognitive and creative amplification, rather than a force of diminishment.

Creating New Markets and Roles

A common fear with AI is job displacement. Certainly, some jobs will evolve or disappear, just as they did during the Industrial Revolution. But just as that era gave birth to entirely new professions and industries, AI will also create opportunities that we cannot fully envision today. As AI tools automate routine work, new fields are already emerging—from highly technical and scientific to philosophical and humanistic.

And in an interesting twist, AI has the potential to democratize expertise. Just as desktop publishing made it easier for nonprofessional writers to communicate effectively, AI will enable non-experts to perform tasks that once required years of specialized training and technology. In fields like law, medicine, and research, AI-driven tools are helping professionals analyze large data sets, generate insights, and improve decision-making processes. This doesn’t reduce the value of human expertise; rather, it enhances it, opening up new avenues for people to contribute in ways that weren’t possible before.

The "Selfie Effect": Unforeseen Applications of AI

When photography first emerged, no one predicted the cultural phenomenon of the "selfie." The selfie is a perfect metaphor for how innovations often spur entirely unexpected behaviors, industries, and cultural forms. What started as a technological breakthrough in capturing images turned into a global trend that influences everything from social media to marketing, personal identity, and even art.

AI is on a similar trajectory. While today’s applications of AI—automated customer service, content generation, or personalized recommendations—are just the tip of the iceberg, the most transformative uses of AI are likely those that we can’t yet fully envision. Entirely new modes of communication, creativity, and collaboration will emerge as AI tools become more sophisticated.

Imagine the possibilities: AI-generated art that interacts with viewers in real-time, personalized education programs that adapt to individual learning styles on the fly, or new forms of storytelling where human writers collaborate with AI to create immersive, multi-sensory narratives. Just as the internet opened up unforeseen opportunities, AI will unlock cultural, intellectual, and artistic movements that will expand the boundaries of human potential. And the operative word here is human.

Human Creativity and Judgment Remain Central

A crucial point to remember is that AI lacks one thing that is central to human creativity: meaning. While AI can generate art, music, or writing, it is humans who assign context, cultural significance, and emotional resonance. Creativity isn’t just about producing novel combinations of words or images; it’s about connecting those combinations to shared human experiences, values, and aspirations. AI can assist in the mechanics of creativity, but the heart of creative expression remains fundamentally human.

Moreover, human judgment will always play a key role in guiding AI’s development and applications. As AI systems grow more powerful, ethical oversight, empathy, and adaptability will be critical. This means that the role of humans in an AI-driven future will not be diminished but elevated, focusing on areas where intuition, emotion, and values take precedence over calculation.

Expanding the Circle of Human Achievement

In many ways, AI represents a continuation of humanity’s long journey of augmenting its abilities. The tools we create—whether they are steam engines, computers, or AI models—are extensions of our capacity to solve problems, create meaning, and push boundaries.

Rather than fragmenting human roles or diminishing our importance, AI has the potential to expand the circle of human cognition and creativity. It will give us more tools to tackle complex problems, open new frontiers of innovation, and allow us to achieve more than we ever could alone. While some fear that AI will shrink the space for human contributions, I believe it will do the opposite: It will multiply our possibilities.

The selfie was unimaginable to the inventors of photography, and, likewise, the most profound impacts of AI are likely still unknown. What we can predict, however, is that just as innovation has done in the past, AI will grow the pie—creating new opportunities, roles, and creative forms that will elevate human potential rather than diminish it.