Intelligence as Typological Cognition: Revisiting Jungian Functions for Human and Artificial Minds

Traditional rationalist and task-based models of intelligence obscure the diverse cognitive processes underlying performance by focusing on abstract reason and observable outcomes. This paper argues that Carl Jung’s typological theory provides a more systematic framework, defining intelligence as a structured system of interacting cognitive functions. Applying this model to Artificial Intelligence reveals that AI, too, requires a balanced development of these functions and its output depends on the dynamic interactions of functions. This perspective critiques “sociomorphing”—optimising for surface-level task performance—as an imbalanced approach. It concludes by redefining “anthropomorphising” as a design benchmark that uses the principles of human psychic balance to guide AI toward more integrated and functionally aware outcomes.