Reshaping Perception Through Technology: From Ancient Script to Large Language Models

TL;DR

This work argues that consciousness is continually reshaped by external media, from DNA and neural dynamics to writing and AI, and that the core driver of this transformation is the folding-unfolding geometry of interacting systems. By synthesizing biology, neuroscience, philosophy, and AI, it proposes a unifying view in which media act as active extensions of cognition, not passive carriers of information. The paper highlights opportunities and risks associated with new media, especially large language models, and calls for an interdisciplinary, creativity-centered framework to harness their potential while mitigating manipulation and loss of skills. Ultimately, it reframes consciousness as a dynamic art of living with artifacts, suggesting that understanding and guiding this co-evolution is key to future cognitive and cultural development.

Abstract

Large language models are reshaping how we create and access information, yet we typically view perception as merely reactive to stimuli, overlooking how the physical qualities of different media uniquely shape cognition. Drawing on Marshall McLuhan's insight that the medium is the massage, we trace a lineage of technologies -- from DNA and the nervous system to language, writing, music, and now LLMs -- that mold perception in distinct ways. We observe that as technologies become more advanced and decoupled from our physiology, they introduce both greater creative potential and greater risk: they enable more efficient play, storage, and transmission, while also introducing artificiality and the potential for inauthenticity and manipulation. This tension is particularly acute with LLMs, which allow rapid, playful generation of content increasingly indistinguishable from human-created work. Noting that humans have a recurring tendency to project intelligence onto novel technologies (a pattern visible in ancient responses to writing), we argue that AI should be framed not as a competitor but as a medium that reshapes perceptual skills and enables new forms of creativity.