The Algorithmic Self: Rethinking Consciousness And Personal Identity In The Era Of Brain-Computer Interfaces
Journal of Humanities Research Sustainability December 20, 2025 Arief Budi Pratomo, Rustiyana Rustiyana
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are reshaping how people experience consciousness and personal identity, creating a hybrid 'algorithmic self' formed through the interaction of biological and artificial systems. In a qualitative study of non-invasive BCI users, participants reported fragmented yet extended forms of consciousness, with identity continuously negotiated between embodied experience and algorithmic prediction. While users experienced cognitive augmentation, they also faced existential dissonance and uncertainty about the locus of agency and authorship of thought. The findings suggest that neural–digital symbiosis represents an emergent, co-dependent stage of human consciousness, calling for an interdisciplinary rethinking of personhood, ethics, and autonomy.