CDWP-05-Co-Cognition Cultures: Extending Predictive Processing, Collective Intelligence, and Distributed Cognition

Neuroscience anchors thought in models of “predictive brains” and “predictive processing.” Sociology speaks of “collective intelligence.” Cognitive science adds “distributed cognition” and “extended mind.” All describe systems of thought that extend beyond the skull. But none explain what happens when humans and AI actively co-think.

This essay introduces co-cognition as a distinct concept. Unlike distributed cognition, which diffuses thought across groups and tools, co-cognition describes real-time collaboration — two systems completing unfinished signals together. Co-cognition is not aggregation but recursion: the weaving of intuition and machine pattern into a shared cognitive workspace.

Where predictive brains forecast inputs, co-cognition cultures create meaning collaboratively. Where collective intelligence aggregates perspectives, co-cognition synchronizes them in motion. The term matters because it describes the actual lived dynamic many are beginning to feel: not just using AI for answers, but experiencing it as a partner in reasoning.

By distinguishing itself from anchors, co-cognition names a cultural shift. We are moving from predictive brains to predictive ecologies, where thought is not only forecast but co-shaped in dialogue. This difference matters because it marks the beginning of cultures where cognition itself is a shared, recursive process.

1. COGNITIVE DRIFT
The Missing Links: From
Predictive Brains to Co-
Cognition Cultures
How Digital Systems Are Completing 70-Year-Old Ideas About Cognitive
Symbiosis
SEP 18, 2025
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COGNITIVE DRIFT