Project AGENCY
Exploring Human Agency in the AI-mediated ERA (v0.1)
Currently, one technology has been capturing human attention enormously: artificial intelligence. AI has been doing work from the simplest to the most complex task. AI has become capable of playing almost any role in multiple departments. From doing repetitive tasks to working as a co-scientist in invention to decoding the universe [1], AI has become deeply integrated into our ecosystem. No wonder AI is one of the greatest artifacts ever made by humans. During a conversation with Dr. Farhad Moeeni, a professor at Arkansas State University, I learned that he uses AI to generate sample datasets for classroom instruction, reducing the time required for repetitive preparation tasks. “It does in minutes that usually take hours,” Dr. Moeeni added.
However, every coin perhaps has two sides. While the benefits of an AI use are not invisible, the tradeoffs of doing them also can’t be unseen in the agency context. One question that keeps appearing, and mayhap raises the concerns, is when it is meaningfully said to have my idea once AI gets involved in the idea.
Imagine a situation: you asked an AI, "What to do?" It gives you the answer, and perhaps it also shows you the reasoning and the tradeoffs, and you chose it. Nonetheless, why did you choose it? The idea feels familiar; The idea seems reasonable; its explanation aligns with your own thinking? Or does the idea seem coherently correct? There might be multiple subjective reasons for acceptance; however, what if it goes deeper than it looks?
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What if AI starts deciding what you choose, what you want, and what you need to do? Then perhaps, from the starting to the finishing point of the idea, from the origination to the execution of the idea, what is it meaningfully to say that it was your decision?
I don’t know the answer yet.
And this is why I started Project AGENCY—to investigate what will happen to the human agency once AI takes part in the decision.
Research theme: Humans should be the authors of their own lives.
References
- Itoi, N. G. (2026, July 8). From biology to astrophysics, AI expands the boundaries of discovery. Stanford Report. https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/07/ai-expands-the-boundaries-of-discovery
