While the world rushes to achieve breakthroughs in the latest artificial intelligence inventions and innovations, little attention is given to securing the use of AI and reducing its risks to humans primarily, considering that AI today competes with humans in the field of thinking, which was once a unique human trait.

We raised this issue with Algerian AI expert at Porsche in Germany, Dr. Chawki Esmahi, who told Echorouk, “Since the industrial revolution, the goal of technology was to reduce physical effort for humans, but today we face a different revolution. AI not only reduces fatigue but also shares our thinking, creativity, and even the creation of emotions. We have entered an unprecedented phase that we can call the ‘social quantum era,’ where truth is no longer absolute but relative, and trust is no longer stable but fragile and quickly collapses.”

Dr. Esmahi adds that the danger here is that algorithms are no longer neutral; they are based on psychology, behavior, and marketing sciences, making them capable of influencing collective consciousness and creating ‘organized ignorance’ through digital misinformation. The problem is that entire generations have grown up with weak intellectual immunity due to the marginalization of philosophy and critical thinking in education, making them more vulnerable to digital intrusion and emotional manipulation.

Dr. Esmahi gives a live example from the automotive industry, where companies like Porsche invest in smart systems that monitor the driver and interact with their emotional state. AI can read the driver’s emotions (stress, fatigue, concentration) and adapt accordingly. The car is no longer just a means of transportation but a space where humans and machines intersect. Here, Dr. Esmahi raises the question: “Are these systems merely assistants, or partners in decision-making and perhaps in shaping our emotions?”

According to Dr. Esmahi, what we need today is not to reject AI but to build intellectual immunity that protects us from its risks. This immunity starts with education, integrating technology with philosophy and restoring the value of critical thinking to ensure we are partners in shaping the future, not just consumers of the imagination produced by algorithms.

He adds that the shift from classical deterministic algorithms to contemporary AI is no longer just a technical tool but has become a cultural and ideological actor. AI has led to the emergence of a ‘hybrid imagination’ between humans and machines and for the first time entered the realm of emotion creation. Consequently, truth and trust have become relative and fragile.

Dr. Esmahi discussed the difference between technology-producing countries and consumer countries, concluding that the risks of consuming AI technologies without awareness are very high. These technologies are created based on the culture and thinking of the producing countries, thus having goals and agendas that consumers may not understand, often unable to grasp. This highlights the magnitude of the danger. He concludes that mitigating risks, whether for producing or consuming countries, lies in building a new educational model that integrates technology with philosophy to enhance intellectual immunity and ensure a balance between artificial creativity and human meaning. Producing countries understand AI risks and control its paths, while consumer countries merely import, exposing themselves to losing connection with reality and immersing in artificial worlds, potentially sinking into ignorance through biased algorithms that are not neutral but embedded with human sciences (psychology, behavior, marketing).

They can penetrate collective consciousness and reshape desires and fears, especially if consumer countries have weak intellectual immunity to AI technologies.

In closing, Dr. Esmahi confirmed that AI has become a cultural and ideological actor reshaping collective consciousness and human emotion. If the intellectual immunity of technology-consuming societies is weak, this will lead to the fragmentation of social bonds due to digital isolation.