THE ECLIPSE OF GENIUS IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: WHY CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY FAILS TO RECOGNIZE EXTRAORDINARY INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

This paper examines the diminishing recognition of individual genius in contemporary society, analyzing how artificial intelligence, collaborative research paradigms, information overload, and social media dynamics collectively obscure extraordinary intellectual contributions. Through an interdisciplinary analysis integrating perspectives from sociology of science, cognitive psychology, media studies, and technology studies, this research demonstrates that the apparent absence of modern geniuses is not due to declining human capability but rather represents a fundamental transformation in how intellectual achievement is produced, distributed, and recognized. The study reveals that large-scale scientific collaborations, while advancing knowledge, distribute credit among thousands of contributors, making individual genius less visible. Simultaneously, the attention economy created by digital media fragments public awareness across countless competing narratives, while AI-generated content floods information ecosystems with synthetic material that competes with human intellectual work. Drawing on contemporary research and historical comparisons, this paper argues that modern society possesses numerous individuals of exceptional intellectual capacity whose contributions remain underrecognized due to structural and technological factors rather than any deficit in human genius. The research concludes by proposing frameworks for better recognizing and celebrating intellectual contributions in an age of collaborative science and artificial intelligence.