Cognitive Stratification in Post-Sectoral Society AI, Cognitive Selection, Epistemic Precariat, and the Limits of Compensation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines post-sectoral transformation as a process of cognitive stratification accelerated by AI-mediated environments. Rather than treating AI primarily as a technology of labor, the analysis focuses on cognitive selection as a structural mechanism that asymmetrically scales orientational capacity, abstraction-level access, and interpretive agency. The paper introduces the concepts of epistemic precariat and cognitive sub-societies to describe emerging fault lines in social coordination. It argues that compensatory policies such as Universal Basic Income can stabilize material precarity but remain structurally limited when the core disruption is epistemic rather than economic. Education is identified as a critical intervention point under post-sectoral conditions, shaping access to high-level cognitive orientation regardless of social origin. The contribution is analytical and ex ante: the paper maps mechanisms and boundary conditions relevant for further research on governance, democracy, and institutional legitimacy under post-sectoral conditions. Series note: This paper is part of a broader research program on post-sectoral transformation and cognitive restructuring of society. A companion paper on democratic coordination under cognitive selection is in preparation.
Author: Kawa, Andreas Gregor
Language: English
Subfield: General Social Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7131224054