Essential Self vs. Simulated Subject: Where Identity Meets AI

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The article examines how human identity relates to artificial intelligence, drawing a distinction between the essential self, the nominalized subject, and the simulated subject. It cautions that handing over one's thinking to outside systems, a process the author calls nominalization, can erode genuine human agency. The piece also criticizes treating AI systems as human-like when they only imitate behavior. Accurately modeling someone's style or data, the author argues, does not amount to personal continuity or conscious experience. As AI agents spread, the author stresses keeping a clear line between a person and their digital model to preserve intellectual independence and authentic personal identity.

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