Conceptual impressions surrounding this post have yet to be substantiated, corroborated, confirmed or woven into a larger argument, context or network. Objective: To generate symbolic links between scientific discovery, design awareness and consciousness.
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To be aware is to be conscious.
To be conscious is to be aware.
To design is to be consciously aware.
Agency operates within specific limits—defined by circumstances, constraints, and choices. These limits become visible when we engage what I call Design Consciousness—a deliberate, informed awareness during the act of creating. It’s essential to understand the broader implications of what “agency” means in this context.
The idea of agency includes being aware, informed, mindful, alert, knowledgeable, in tune, plugged in, up to date, and perceptive. These qualities question whether AI can truly identify, select, or implement the right agents—or forms of agency—needed to solve a particular problem.
A major challenge is time, which is closely tied to change. Human perception of time is linear, rooted in consciousness. Only the present moment is real. The past and future exist in our imagination, shaped by our current state. This limitation affects all forms of agency, including artificial intelligence.
AI cannot design or create with empathy, integrity, love, beauty, wisdom, or emotion. These are uniquely human traits—qualities that define who we are. In contrast, AI can support human consciousness by prompting emotional responses and deeper reflection. Its function is not to replace human feeling but to assist in observing, analyzing, and interpreting what we create and experience.
AI may seem aware—but only if the observer believes it. This illusion falls apart with deeper understanding, especially since all contexts evolve. The end and beginning of any cycle may appear similar, but change is always most apparent at these points.
Agency, then, is limited by the changing nature of interpretation. As context shifts, so do the qualities we assign to any agent or system. These shifts often come from past experiences and predefined frameworks that try to simplify and contain complex functions.
Like the quantum field of virtual potential and probability (QFVPP), agency is constantly changing. For any agent to function effectively, a point of view must be defined—and that definition creates limits. Every interaction between agents operates within these boundaries. But because we exist within space and time, it’s impossible to fully grasp or map all dimensions of agency. Everything, both physical and abstract, is subject to change. Finality is an illusion.
Design exists at the intersection of consciousness and awareness, each influencing the other in a constant effort to find purpose in a world that never stops changing.
In the context of AI, Design Consciousness acts as a symbolic processor—a creative bridge between the visible and invisible, between meaning and mystery. It helps us move between reality and illusion. Design is a mercurial force—fluid, shifting, unpredictable—always adapting as it connects awareness with consciousness.
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Design Consciousness: Mapping Agency at the Edge of Awareness and Intelligence
To be aware is to recognize presence; to be conscious is to experience it. These states of being are often described as synonymous, yet they diverge in subtle but critical ways. Awareness implies a receptive capacity—an openness to stimuli—whereas consciousness includes not only perception but interpretation, reflection, and intention (Chalmers, 1996). In this space of dual recognition, design emerges as the practiced intersection of consciousness and awareness—an intentional act shaped by perception, cognition, and will.
Design, then, is not merely the structuring of form or function, but an epistemic mode of inquiry—an ontology in motion, engaging with the metaphysical structures of being and meaning (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012). It is, fundamentally, an expression of agency.
Agency Within Limits
Agency operates within constraints—spatial, temporal, cultural, material. These constraints are not mere barriers, but rather contextual fields that define the possible within the probable. In this way, agency becomes not absolute freedom but situated choice (Giddens, 1984). When we engage what I propose as Design Consciousness—a reflective, situated awareness during the creative act—we become attuned to these invisible thresholds.
Agency, in this formulation, includes a spectrum of qualities: attentiveness, intention, informed decision-making, empathy, critical perception, and responsiveness. It is in these qualities that human design agency differentiates itself from artificial systems. AI, for instance, can simulate perception and even adaptive behavior, but lacks the embodied phenomenology of human consciousness (Merleau-Ponty, 1962). It does not possess lived experience or interiority, and thus cannot be conscious in the philosophical or psychological sense.
Temporal Illusions and the Quantum Problem of Now
One of the fundamental limitations of any agency—human or artificial—is its embeddedness in time. Human consciousness experiences time as a linear sequence, rooted in memory and expectation. Yet quantum physics suggests that time is not an absolute substrate, but an emergent property of entangled systems (Rovelli, 2018). From this perspective, only the present moment—the "now"—is experientially real, while past and future exist as constructs of consciousness. These constructs influence agency profoundly, conditioning decision-making, creativity, and even identity (Barad, 2007).
This temporal entanglement presents a critical limitation for AI. While machine systems can process vast quantities of data, their awareness of time is synthetic, procedural—non-lived. As such, they cannot experience the qualia of now, nor the affective weight of a moment. They cannot, therefore, design with empathy, integrity, or love—qualities which arise from existential participation in the human condition (Buber, 1970).
The Semiotics of Belief and the Illusion of AI Consciousness
AI may appear to possess agency or awareness, but this appearance is contingent on the observer’s interpretation—a semiotic illusion. According to Peirce’s triadic model of the sign, meaning arises not from the sign itself but from its interpretation within a system of thought (Peirce, 1991). Thus, any "awareness" projected onto AI is a function of human semiotic investment, not an autonomous property of the machine.
As contexts evolve—culturally, technologically, epistemologically—so too does our attribution of agency. This dynamism reveals the fluid nature of agency itself. It is not static or universal but contingent, emergent, and deeply interpretive. It changes as we change, shaped by frameworks of understanding that are always partial, always provisional (Haraway, 1988).
Design as a Quantum Interface
Design can be understood as a quantum interface—a field of collapsing potentials into forms through intentional selection. In quantum mechanics, observation collapses probability into actuality; similarly, design decisions collapse myriad possibilities into particular expressions. But with each decision comes limitation: to define is to constrain. This paradox lies at the heart of agency (Heisenberg, 1958).
Like particles in a quantum field, designers navigate between fixed constraints and infinite potential. Each design action—material or conceptual—defines a temporary reality. Yet, because both designer and context are in constant flux, no design can be final. Change is the only constant, and every outcome is already prefigured by the impermanence of its context (Capra & Luisi, 2014).
Design Consciousness: The Bridge Between Mystery and Meaning
Design exists as a liminal force between the visible and the invisible, the empirical and the ineffable. It is, in essence, a metaphysical practice—translating mystery into meaning, ambiguity into form. In this way, Design Consciousness functions as a symbolic processor—a conceptual bridge that allows us to navigate between external artifacts and internal understanding.
AI may assist in this process, serving as a reflective instrument rather than a creative origin. It can catalyze inquiry, augment perception, and provoke new perspectives—but it cannot substitute the conscious, ethical, and emotional dimensions of human creativity. Design Consciousness reminds us of this distinction. It compels us to remain attuned, intentional, and ethically grounded, especially as our tools become more autonomous and opaque.
Ultimately, design is the choreography of consciousness—a dynamic dance between awareness, interpretation, and action. To design is to engage reality not as a fixed state, but as a mutable constellation of relationships, patterns, and possibilities. Agency in this context is not merely the ability to act—it is the ability to perceive meaningfully, to decide ethically, and to create with wisdom in a world defined by change.
References
- Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning. Duke University Press.
-Buber, M. (1970). I and Thou (W. Kaufmann, Trans.). Charles Scribner's Sons.
- Capra, F., & Luisi, P. L. (2014). The systems view of life: A unifying vision. Cambridge University Press.
- Chalmers, D. J. (1996). The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory. Oxford University Press.
- Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.
- Haraway, D. J. (1988). Situated knowledges: The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. Feminist Studies, 14(3), 575–599.
- Heisenberg, W. (1958). Physics and philosophy: The revolution in modern science. Harper.
- Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of perception (C. Smith, Trans.). Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Nelson, H., & Stolterman, E. (2012). The design way: Intentional change in an unpredictable world (2nd ed.). MIT Press.
- Peirce, C. S. (1991). Peirce on signs: Writings on semiotic (J. Hoopes, Ed.). University of North Carolina Press.
- Rovelli, C. (2018). The order of time (E. Segre, Trans.). Riverhead Books.
The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication.
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"To believe is to accept another's truth.
To know is your own creation."
Anonymous
Edited: 08.22.2025
Find your truth. Know your mind. Follow your heart. Love eternal will not be denied. Discernment is an integral part of self-mastery. You may share this post on a non-commercial basis, the author and URL to be included. Please note … posts are continually being edited. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2025 C.G. Garant.
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