Process-Constituted Intelligence: A Shared Criterion for Humans and Machines
2026-08-17 • Artificial Intelligence
Artificial IntelligenceEmerging Technologies
AI summaryⓘ
The authors explain that intelligence is about the process of thinking, not just the answers people give. Generative AI (GenAI) creates outputs that look like human thinking but does not actually do the thinking process itself. They highlight the difference between weak equivalence (similar outputs) and strong equivalence (similar thinking processes) and propose seven key features to compare human and AI cognition. The authors warn that relying too much on GenAI might weaken human thinking skills, and they suggest ways to design AI that supports rather than replaces human creativity. They also propose methods to test if AI truly matches human cognitive processes.
Generative AICognitionStrong equivalenceWeak equivalenceProcess-based intelligenceHuman judgmentCreativityProcess auditCognitive sciences
Authors
Michael J. Richardson, Ayeh Alhasan, Cassandra Crone, M. Paula Diaz Monfort, Patrick Nalepka, Mark Dras, Rachel W. Kallen, David M. Kaplan
Abstract
Intelligence is constituted by \textit{process} (iterative activity through which output emerges), not in the output itself. Generative AI (GenAI) is trained on \textit{traces} (textual and visual residues of human cognitive processes), reproducing samples from a distribution of those traces. Its outputs resemble reasoning, problem-solving, and creativity, yet the activity that produces such outputs in humans remains largely absent. Current GenAI is, therefore, weakly equivalent to the cognition it imitates, matching outputs while process stays absent or opaque. The cognitive sciences have long distinguished between weak and strong equivalence. Here, we define \textit{strong} equivalence across seven process features, assessable against human and machine cognition. Our process-based account addresses a symmetric risk: GenAI tools that outsource a person's generative processes may leave critical capacities unbuilt. We specify design principles for GenAI that instantiate more process and preserve rather than erode human judgment and creativity, and outline process audits that make strong equivalence testable.