The Epistemic Frontier of Capitalism: A Theory of Epistemic Regression through Artificial Intelligence and Misinformation

This article argues that contemporary capitalism has entered a phase in which outcomes are increasingly shaped by the privatization and strategic destabilization of the epistemic commons through frontier artificial intelligence and platform-mediated misinformation.

James Rice
Cambridge Journal of Artificial Intelligence
2026-07-17

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This article advances a theory of epistemic frontier capitalism, arguing that under the pressure of frontier artificial intelligence and platform-mediated misinformation, accumulation, growth, and knowledge production are increasingly shaped by the privatization and strategic destabilization of shared epistemic commons.

The paper develops this thesis through linked case studies of artificial intelligence and misinformation as strategies of capital accumulation. It argues that capitalism increasingly profits from corroding the epistemic and intellectual preconditions of its own vitality through information warfare, while artificial intelligence industrializes inference and concentrates power over decision-making authority.

Citation

Rice, James. (2026). “The Epistemic Frontier of Capitalism: A Theory of Epistemic Regression through Artificial Intelligence and Misinformation.” Cambridge Journal of Artificial Intelligence, 1(3), 177-187.