The Noosphere, AI and Dehumanization: Cautionary Tales, and Re-humanization of Humanity

During the past six years, from 2019 to 2025, we witnessed the emergence of two consecutive phenomena whose disruptive impacts were, and are, truly global. The first of these, namely Covid-19, arose in a biological domain, but affected humanity both microcosmically (e.g. in terms of individuals and families) and macrocosmically (e.g. in terms of sociology and economics). While the pandemic has faded away, many of the changes it engendered, including mass-migration of human consciousness into the noosphere and its after-effects, remain in place. The second and more recent disruptive phenomenon, namely the emergence and proliferation of Large Language Models (LLMs) continues unabated. This article summarizes six cautionary tales illustrating how the noosphere and AI dehumanize humanity, identifying factors that impede the attainment of full human potential. It then summarizes leading-edge research that reveals psychological, pedagogical, and cognitive liabilities incurred by over-use or abuse of AI in general, and LLMs in particular, while acknowledging that appropriate uses can exert emotionally and/or noetically comforting placebo effects. In conclusion, it suggests six ways in which philosophical practices, including humanities therapies, can help to rehumanize humanity in contemporary technosocieties.