THE ALGORITHMIC ENCIRCLEMENT OF TRUTH: Human Cognition, Artificial Intelligence, Epistemic Authority, and the Reconstruction of Truth

This preprint examines the growing influence of artificial intelligence systems on human cognition, knowledge production, epistemic authority, and the social construction of truth. It investigates how algorithmic selection, ranking, content generation, and feedback mechanisms shape the circulation and interpretation of information.The study develops a multidimensional epistemic framework for evaluating the relationship between human judgment and algorithmic systems. It introduces a multi-layered epistemic oversight model and a twelve-cell audit matrix designed to assess transparency, accountability, information reliability, and the limits of algorithmic authority.Rather than treating artificial intelligence as an autonomous source of truth, the paper emphasizes the importance of human critical judgment, epistemic responsibility, and independent verification.The proposed framework aims to contribute to interdisciplinary discussions in artificial intelligence, philosophy of knowledge, media studies, and the sociology of digital technologies.Author: Zakir KAYA ORCID: 0009-0002-8035-2147 Document type: Preprintno