Human Agency under Conditions of Algorithmic Mediation by Artificial Intelligence

The widespread integration of artificial intelligence systems into everyday and professional practices challenges classical philosophical conceptions of agency, autonomy, and responsibility. Under conditions of algorithmic mediation, human action is increasingly shaped within hybrid sociotechnical systems in which cognitive, epistemic, and normative functions are distributed between humans and AI. This situation calls for a reexamination of which properties of agency remain distinctively human and how they manifest within this new configuration of human–AI interaction. The aim of this article is to provide a philosophical analysis of the specific properties of human agency in hybrid human–artificial intelligence systems and to identify how intentionality and control are transformed under algorithmic mediation. The article demonstrates that human agency in AI-mediated sociotechnical systems is characterized by weakened epistemic autonomy, contextually distributed control, and a hybrid form of intentionality that incorporates algorithmically generated elements. The article identifies several distinctive features, including vulnerability to algorithmic framing and cognitive codependence on AI systems, that distinguish hybrid agency from classical instrumental models of human action. The article concludes that, despite these transformations, humans retain a unique role in normative reflection and meaning-making. This role enables them to critically evaluate and reconfigure the architectures that structure interaction with AI. The article is intended for philosophers, media scholars, digital technology researchers, specialists in AI ethics, and others engaged in analyzing sociotechnical systems and questions of responsibility in algorithmically mediated social realities.