Artificial Intelligence as the Extension of Man: An Analysis of Generative AI through McLuhan’s Perspective

Abstract

This theoretical-analytical article seeks to characterize Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) as the Most Radical Extension of Man, revisiting Marshall McLuhan’s conceptual framework. Based on the premise that AI has become the “primary general-purpose technology of the 21st century,” this study discusses how GAI, grounded in Deep Learning, constitutes a new algorithmic medium that, according to the McLuhanian axiom, is itself the message that restructures perception. The analysis deepens the dialectic between cognitive extension (the Human–Machine symbiosis) and the risk of skill amputation (cognitive erosion), emphasizing that every extension is an amputation. Special attention is given to the algorithmic opacity of black-box models, which heightens the urgency of explainability (XAI) and regulation, as demonstrated in the debate surrounding Bill PL 2.338/23. The study concludes that the only viable strategy is the proper appropriation of AI through an educational reorientation centered on critical thinking and Wisdom (4D Framework), thereby preserving human agency and judgment.