The Generalized Theory of Digital Augmentation (GTDA): A Systems-Level Framework for Human–AI Cognitive Symbiosis

This paper introduces the Generalized Theory of Digital Augmentation (GTDA),a formal framework for modeling human-AI cognitive symbiosis. Uniquely, this theory was notdeveloped in abstraction but was inductively derived from a practice-to-theory methodol-ogy, grounded in the development of Naomi, a prototype built to address lived neurodivergentchallenges. Central to this work is the Augmented Cognitive Framework (ACF), a com-prehensive governance model with ethical and practical guardrails designed to ensureaugmentation supports, rather than supplants, human agency and cognitive sovereignty. The manuscript presents: (1) the formal GTDA model, which treats augmentation as a func-tion of cognitive traits, system friction, and internal rhythms; (2) the ACF as a constitutionalarchitecture for ethical design; (3) illustrative evidence from a diverse set of case studies; and(4) a call to establish Digital Augmentation Sciences (DAS) as a new, formally governeddiscipline. Topics addressed include: Real-time human-AI co-agency Cognitive scaffolding and executive function modeling Feedback loops, friction modeling, and user state estimation Ethics of augmentation and cognitive sovereignty Applications in neurodiversity, education, and organizational knowledge systems The work is intended as both a theoretical foundation and a practical framework for developing next-generation augmentation technologies that are ethically aligned, cognitively transparent, and evolutionarily adaptive.