Is Serendipitous Discovery in Danger? Implications of the Shift from Humanism to Post-humanism in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

Today’s managers, scientists, and individuals are facing a constant wave of information as well as access to every kind of information, either true or constructed as part of content creation and resonance, leading to overinformation anxiety and information overload. At the same time, the deployment of artificial intelligence as a general-use technology is prompting many individuals to ask questions to perform daily tasks, administrative work, research, and even diagnostics, impacting cognitive processes and critical thinking.

Under these conditions, it is essential to reconsider Alan Turing’s question of whether machines can think and operate as human beings. More specifically, the question that mainly arises is whether artificial intelligence and constant exposure to the ability to ask a question and receive an otherwise “knowledgeable” response are adequate for the emergence of truly “intelligent” mental interconnections and serendipitous discoveries. Furthermore, are we losing our theoretical foundations and our ability to develop and support theories?

Departing from these questions, in this theoretical paper, we argue that we have entered an era where knowledge management acquires a new and more substantive role. It is no longer limited to identifying and leveraging the collective knowledge in an organization to help an organization compete, but extends to the broader capacity to create conditions for positive serendipity, enabling meaningful discoveries and new connections between knowledge, information, and experience.

Therefore, we discuss the role of artificial intelligence systems in the production of knowledge and real discovery (eureka moments), highlighting the ethical, environmental, and cognitive implications of excessive artificial intelligence, which could signal a shift from humanism to post-humanism, eventually altering the historical relationship between humanity and tools: i.e., technology and its products are the means through which logical comprehension of the external world is utilized for the benefit of society.