Definition
Every use of AI is an exchange. Augmentation on one side, cognitive cost on the other. Not better, not worse, different. The terms are rarely read, because the interface sets them by default and never presents them for signature. Centaur and Cyborg are two shapes the deal takes: the Centaur keeps a boundary that can be inspected, the Cyborg trades that boundary for fluency. Neither is the correct one. They carry different terms.
What is at stake
The move available to a leader is to state the terms rather than inherit them.
Where the word came from
- New DealFranklin D. Roosevelt, 1933
- Centaur and Cyborgthe jagged frontier study, 2023
- The deal framingepiscope, 2026
How episcope came to it
Split provenance. New Deal is Roosevelt's and every audience hears it. Centaur and Cyborg come from the jagged frontier study. The framing of AI adoption as a deal whose terms go unread is episcope's.
What to watch for
Three terms sit close together and are not interchangeable. Automation versus augmentation names what is gained. Cognitive tax prices what is given up, one transaction at a time. The deal is the whole exchange.
Papers behind it
Dell'Acqua, F., McFowland III, E., Mollick, E., Lifshitz-Assaf, H., Kellogg, K., Rajendran, S., Krayer, L., Candelon, F., & Lakhani, K. R. (2026). Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality. Organization Science, 37(2).