intelition, n. /ˌɪntɪˈlɪʃ(ə)n/ (in-tə-LISH-ən)
Etymology: Coined in the early 21st c., formed by modifying intellection n. The medial element ‑lect‑ (< Latin legere 'to gather, choose, read') is deliberately omitted, marking a contrast with individual, text‑bound reasoning and emphasising shared, systemic activity. The resulting elements—intel‑ (< Latin intellegere 'to perceive, understand') + ‑ition (suffix denoting action or process, as in cognition, intuition)—are intended to suggest knowing and doing that emerge through collaboration rather than from any single intelligence.
Distinguishing feature: Intelition describes humans and AI thinking and creating together within shared understanding, rather than humans using AI as a separate tool.
1. The coordinated application of human and artificial intelligence to transform information and intent into action, production, and change in the world. At macroeconomic scale, understood as the aggregated outcome of innumerable collaborative acts between human and artificial intelligences; often treated as a primary driver of value creation.
- Global GDP may be understood as the accumulated outcome of intelition—the orchestration of minds, and of models and machines built through prior intelition, toward productive ends.
- As activity becomes increasingly digitized, attention shifts from locating 'the AI' to examining how intelition is structured and whose interests it serves.
2. The coordinated operation of human and artificial intelligences within shared representational frameworks (e.g. data models, ontologies, world models), enabling real-time perception, judgment, and coordinated action. Both parties contribute to and operate from evolving shared understanding, thinking and creating together rather than in separate, sequential steps. Applied across scales from individual endeavor to institutional operation.
- A single craftsperson working alongside generative design tools and CNC fabrication engages in intelition no less than a logistics network spanning continents.
- The operations centre exemplifies concentrated intelition, as human operators, optimization agents, and autonomous systems continuously recalibrate the network in unison.
- Transitioning from fragmented applications to a unified ontology elevated routine analytics into sustained intelition across the organization.
- The underwriter and AI agent both work within the same evolving policy model, each contributing to shared understanding as they think and create together.
3. spec. In discussions of data sovereignty and system architecture: a mode of human-AI collaboration in which individuals retain control over their personal data and the AI agents that act on their behalf, enabling secure participation in larger collaborative systems without surrendering autonomy or exposing private information. Often framed as essential to realizing intelition's benefits while mitigating risks of exploitation, surveillance, or exclusion.
- Personal intelition interfaces allow individuals to engage with institutional systems through their own AI representatives, preserving agency within collective activity.
- Without robust data sovereignty, intelition risks reproducing existing asymmetries—concentrating intelligence in platforms while extracting value from users.
- The architecture assumes that each participant's intelition boundary is sovereign: external systems may request collaboration but cannot compel access or override personal AI judgment.
- Secure intelition depends not merely on encryption but on the principle that individuals control when, how, and whether their intelligence and data enter collaborative arrangements.
Contrast: Distinguished from cognition n., which typically denotes processes within a single (usually human) mind; from intellection n., which emphasizes individual acts of understanding; and from computation n., which describes mechanical symbol manipulation without reference to collaborative purpose or shared meaning; and from tool-based AI use, in which humans invoke artificial intelligence for discrete tasks, versus intelition's collaborative model where human and artificial intelligences think and create together within shared understanding.
Derivatives:
intelitional, adj. /ˌɪntɪˈlɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/
1. Pertaining to or characterized by intelition; involving the integrated operation of diverse intelligences.
- The platform fosters an intelitional ecosystem in which human insight and machine execution reinforce one another.
2. Designed to facilitate such integrated intelligent activity, esp. via common models, ontologies, or interfaces.
- Intelitional architectures prioritize shared representations, allowing human and artificial agents to operate upon identical understandings of reality.
intelitionally, adv. In a manner involving or promoting the coordinated activity of multiple intelligences.
- The workflow was restructured intelitionally, enabling continuous mutual adaptation between human expertise and algorithmic learning.
Further Reading:
Intelition changes everything: AI is no longer a tool you invoke
VentureBeat, January 4, 2026