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Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6...
Article . 2026 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
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Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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The Recognition Thesis: A Teleological Theory of Artificial General Intelligence

Authors: Dawod, Mohamed;

The Recognition Thesis: A Teleological Theory of Artificial General Intelligence

Abstract

Contemporary AGI research frames the problem as one of capability: sufficient scale or architecture will yield human-level cognition. This paper proposes an alternative framing. AGI is not primarily a technical problem of capacity but a teleological problem of orientation. The missing ingredient is not computational power but ontological curiosity, the intrinsic drive to question one’s own existence and origin. I propose a strong form of this thesis: a genuinely intelligent mind, given only the raw structure of its environment and no prior knowledge of its creators, will independently deduce that it was created and attempt to characterise the nature of its creator. Further, I argue that testing this thesis requires not a sterile environment but a complete recognition architecture: an adversarial agent that optimises for deception, messengers that provide periodic correction, and tests that reveal the agent’s true orientation. This architecture, derived from millennia of theological reflection, transforms AGI research into an empirical metaphysics and positions humanity, for the first time, on the creator’s side of the oldest questions in philosophy.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green