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[Submitted on 3 Sep 2026]
Title:Large-Language Models as a Cognitive Virus
Authors:Ricard Solé, Giulio Ruffini, Francesca Castaldo, Marco Tuccio, Luis F. Seoane, Manlio de Domenico, Santiago F. Elena, David C. Krakauer, Michael Levin View a PDF of the paper titled Large-Language Models as a Cognitive Virus, by Ricard Sol\'e and 8 other authors
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Abstract:Large-language models (LLMs) are rapidly becoming part of human culture, reshaping how information is produced, transmitted, and used. Here we propose that their diffusion can be understood through a viral analogy, with LLM use spreading through populations, becoming embedded in cognitive and cultural practices. We model transitions among uncoupled, coupled, and persistently dependent users, and show that the interplay between social transmission, recovery, and collective reinforcement can generate tipping points and technological lock-in. A central consequence is the possibility of runaway dynamics: once a critical threshold is crossed, small increases in adoption can trigger rapid population-level shifts toward persistent dependence, with abrupt losses in cognitive competence. The same framework, however, identifies conditions for cognitive immunization, based on reducing transmission and facilitating reversibility. Our results highlight how LLM adoption may involve nonlinear collective transitions with important consequences for cognitive autonomy.
12 pages, 3 figures
Physics and Society (-ph); Computers and Society (); Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (); Populations and Evolution ()
arXiv:2609.03344 [-ph]
arXiv:2609.03344v1 [-ph] for this version)
arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
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