From Human Agency to Algorithmic Dependence: A Philosophical Critique of Autonomy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly transformed human decision-making by improving efficiency, processing large volumes of information, and providing personalized recommendations. However, the expansion of algorithmic mediation also raises a fundamental philosophical question concerning whether technological assistance strengthens human autonomy or gradually produces dependence upon computational systems. This article critically examines the changing relationship between human agency and algorithmic decision-making by asking how AI-mediated choices affect reflection, deliberation, judgment, and responsibility. The study employs qualitative philosophical research through conceptual analysis, critical philosophical analysis, comparative analysis of theories of autonomy, and normative argumentation. The analysis demonstrates that autonomy cannot be reduced to the formal freedom to choose among available alternatives; rather, it requires the substantive capacity to understand information, critically evaluate reasons, deliberate among alternatives, exercise judgment, and assume responsibility for resulting actions. The findings further indicate that algorithmic dependence emerges when convenience, automation, and recommendation systems progressively displace these reflective capacities from human decision-making. In response, this article proposes the concept of Reflective Human Agency (RHA), structured through five interconnected dimensions: Information, Reflection, Deliberation, Choice, and Responsibility. RHA positions AI as an epistemic and cognitive aid rather than a substitute for human judgment. The framework contributes to philosophical debates on autonomy and AI while offering implications for responsible AI governance, human oversight, and education that develops critical, epistemic, and ethical capacities.