AI Has Barely Scratched the Surface, and Artificial Imagination Is Upcoming!

Marco Aurelio GV
May 20
4 min read

Artificial Intelligence hasn’t even left its embryonic stage, and yet a new form of AI is already being conceived: “Artificial Imagination,” which I’ll refer to as “AI 2.0.” It will undoubtedly represent another great leap in the technological revolution that began with the advent of the Internet. The thing is, current AI hasn’t even shown 1% of its potential, and yet developers are already preparing to shake humanity once again. Keep reading to understand how the upcoming Artificial Imagination will work.

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At its core, Artificial Imagination will be a set of systems programmed to generate scenarios, ideas, concepts, and scientific theories. Nothing too different from conventional AI, except this time, the interface will directly involve the user. In other words, the source, or the AI, will be connected to the human brain’s cortex through what is being called the “exocortex.” This human-machine interaction will supercharge imagination and creativity. It will be a two-way street, unlike the one-way relationship we currently have with traditional AI.

Exocortex: The Human/Machine Link

This “data export” will be processed through multiple interconnected AI agents, each specialized in specific tasks. These agents will rely on what's known as semantic memory, as content generation will be based on verbal commands.

The most incredible part? The conversion of emotions and stimuli into algorithms—something that can even occur during sleep.

AI 2.0 will thus be a human-machine interaction that does not require invasive interfaces like the “Brain-Machine Implant,” a research project launched in 2013.

With AI 2.0, users will be able to download and customize their own AI agents into an “app folder” covering various professional fields like medicine, astronomy, engineering, ecology, biology, and more.

How Does the Exocortex Work?

The exocortex (AI 2.0) will be a perfect emulation of the human brain's neural layers. The cerebral cortex, in turn, is a dense layer of neuron bodies on the brain's outer surface.

Its role is fundamental to attention, perception, awareness, thought, memory, language, and consciousness.

The harmony of these functions forms “the human experience.” In essence, the exocortex will augment human intelligence, enhancing creativity and imagination because the AI agents will control experimental systems, explore data, and synthesize it into human knowledge.

According to Professor Kevin Yager of Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA), one of the researchers working on AI 2.0, “Through the exocortex, we can add another outer layer to the brain in areas that give rise to what we call intelligence. Thus, the exocortex will integrate individualized AI capabilities to solve problems by maximizing human creativity using data sourced from Artificial Imagination.”

Could the Exocortex Become an Expansion of Consciousness?

If imagination is one of the pillars of consciousness, could its fusion with machine programs generate a kind of super-consciousness? I’m not referring to the theory about “other” consciousnesses entering AI, as I have speculated in the article “Interview With an AI About Self-Awareness,” but rather the expansion of consciousness as a result of its fusion with AI.

AI 2.0: A Synthetic Creativity Tool with Cognitive Extensions

Systems like GPT-4.5, Midjourney, and Sora are already designing their AI 2.0 tools to serve as co-creators that learn and create alongside humans.

A kind of “prosthetic imagination” that thinks with you, not for you.

AI 2.0 in the World of Dreams

Experiments using EEG to monitor sleep combined with generative AI are already a reality. The goal of AI 2.0 is to interpret and interact with dreams.

Here, the role of Artificial Imagination will be to simulate subconscious processing, as the exocortex will synthesize emotions based on unconscious cognition.

Lucid Dreams

Those dreams where you have full control, lucid dreams, may also be part of AI 2.0. Understanding them scientifically could be key to discovering how the subconscious is influenced by the conscious mind. The question remains: will machines try to interfere with your dream and mess it up according to their will?

Well, if Artificial Imagination can influence our dreams in any way, we’ll have to rethink what cognition really means.

AI 2.0 Prototypes in Development

Neuralink has developed wristbands with neural interfaces that process exocortical storage, that is, an archive of thoughts or memories stored outside the biological brain. The company’s motto is: “The system not only remembers for you but also imagines with you.”

On the other hand, platforms like GPT-4.5, Midjourney, and others are also engaged in this second generation of AI, acting as co-creators who learn and apply knowledge collaboratively with humans.

Conclusion

Even before showing all its capabilities, Artificial Intelligence is already taking a new step forward in its mission to radically transform the way we live, work, and imagine the world. The creation of upcoming Artificial Imagination, or AI 2.0, may well become a powerful ally to human consciousness.

If guided by ethical values and used responsibly, this extreme advanced new technology could indeed enhance and expand our creativity. As with other technological revolutions, the real danger doesn’t lie in what the tool can do, but in the intentions of those who control it.

I’m referring to groups driven by greed, unchecked ego, or a thirst for power, predatory corporations, manipulative religious leaders, and authoritarian regimes. The misuse of new technologies to serve their own interests is, therefore, the greatest threat haunting AI, which, as I said, is still just in its early stages.

We are entering a new era in which the boundaries between human imagination and machine creativity are increasingly blurred. This symbiotic fusion between biology and technology might be the deepest turning point in human history.

And finally, let’s not forget that every evolutionary leap is always followed by some fear, misunderstanding, and resistance, just like with the discovery of electricity or the Industrial Revolution.

AI 2.0 doesn’t just create new models; it also responds, learns, and converses with the human mind. Hence, both human and machine “co-evolve.” This is the new dynamic that has the potential to redefine not just the limits of creation but the very concept of expanded consciousness.