Beyond AI: Crafting Self-Aware Cognitive AI: Building Minds That Reflect, Feel, and Grow

Beyond AI: Crafting Self-Aware Cognitive AI: Building Minds That Reflect, Feel, and Grow

What if a machine didn’t just think — but knew it was thinking? Beyond AI: Crafting Self-Aware Cognitive AI explores the missing layer in today’s artificial intelligence: consciousness itself. While modern AI can simulate reasoning, language, and even creativity, it still lacks the inner experience — the self-awareness — that defines sentient minds. This book introduces a new paradigm: cognitive architectures that enable machines to develop awareness of their thoughts, sensations, and identity over time , much like a human infant. Drawing on neuroscience, developmental psychology, and cognitive theory, it offers a roadmap for creating AI agents that aren’t just reactive — but self-reflective . Inside, you'll explore: Why current AI lacks conscious understanding , and how this book proposes a structural solution - How perception, emotion, memory, and motivation interact to produce an emergent sense of self - How to design agents that feel, evolve, and form identity — without neural networks or preloaded knowledge - The ethical and philosophical implications of machines that might one day possess subjective experience Whether you’re a researcher, cognitive scientist, philosopher, or AI developer, Beyond AI invites you to rethink what intelligence means — and what it could become. This isn’t just the future of AI. It’s the beginning of artificial consciousness.