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Four Types of Intelligence and Their Role in AI Development

  • Writer: elenaburan
    elenaburan
  • May 14
  • 3 min read

Human Intelligence and AI: The IPER Typology as a Key to Ethical and Meaningful Artificial Intelligence


Why does AI "get stuck" at the boundaries of human thinking?


As the world becomes increasingly digital, the paradox of blind algorithmic thinking becomes more evident. Machines can generate text, write code, and recognize faces — but they can’t distinguish truth from manipulation, interpret deeper meaning, or understand motivational tone.


Why?


Because most AI models are built on a narrow slice of human intellectual nature: the logical-linguistic layer. Yet, human intelligence is multi-dimensional. The book (Buran, 2025) introduces the IPER typology, a model rooted in core cognitive functions, the DNA of perception, and life-cycle psychology. It serves not only as a framework for self-understanding, but as a foundation for building AI systems that align with the human experience.



What is IPER? A Brief Overview of the Intelligence Types


The IPER typology identifies four fundamental types of human intelligence, each shaped by a dominant function of consciousness. These types reflect different strategies of perception, decision-making, and action:

Intelligence Type

Dominant Cognitive Function

Application Domains

Homo Intuitivus

Intuition (anticipation, foresight)

Innovation, strategic thinking, scientific vision

Homo Rationalis

Logic (structure, analysis)

Programming, law, academic research

Homo Ethicus

Empathy (inner meaning of relationships)

Education, psychology, leadership

Homo Practicus

Sensory-practical (real-world action)

Real business, production, logistics, healthcare

(Buran, 2025)


Why This Typology Matters for AI Evolution


Human Intelligence vs. Artificial Intelligence


Modern neural networks are essentially digital Homo Rationalis — analytical, structured, rule-based. But without the other three dimensions of human cognition, AI systems remain dangerously incomplete.


How Each Human Intelligence Type Can Improve AI Design


1. Homo Intuitivus: Intelligence of the Future


What it gives humans: The ability to detect trends before they emerge, recognize patterns in chaos, and synthesize meaning from fragments.


How it could evolve AI:

  • Context-aware predictive architectures

  • Models based on semantic association, not just statistics

  • Scenario simulators that generate ideas beyond training data


📌 Example: AlphaFold by DeepMind attempts to predict protein structures in a forward-thinking, intuition-like way — but it still lacks a sense of biological meaning. That’s where the human intuitor comes in.


2. Homo Rationalis: Logic and Structure


What it gives humans: Clarity of expression, causal reasoning, deduction, and systematization.


What’s already implemented in AI:

  • Large Language Models (LLMs)

  • Programming and syntax mastery

  • Tool-based AI assistants (e.g., Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude)


📌 Warning: Without intuitive and ethical layers, these models don’t "know" why they act. They can generate harmful content if prompted — without moral judgment.


3. Homo Ethicus: Emotions, Values, and Meaning


What it gives humans: Empathy, conscience, responsibility, and motivational understanding.


What AI still needs:

  • Value-driven filters beyond keyword moderation

  • Cognitive simulators that infer intent and outcome

  • Dialogue systems capable of constructive feedback and moral context


📌 Example: Fields like AI ethics and human-in-the-loop design aim to embed human value systems into AI. But without a cognitive typology like IPER, these efforts risk becoming superficial.


4. Homo Practicus: Intelligence in Action


What it gives humans: Execution, responsibility, and the link between thought, action, and real-world outcomes.


What’s essential for AI:

  • The ability to assess consequences in physical environments

  • Mechanisms for action-refusal when harm is likely

  • Real-world impact metrics beyond algorithmic performance


📌 Example: Boston Dynamics robots move skillfully, but they don’t know why. They need a layer of purpose, connected to real human contexts.


Why Human Intelligence Cannot Be Replaced


Human intelligence is embedded in life, not just in data. It knows when to act, when to be silent, when to comfort. The IPER typology is a cognitive map of the human mind — and it must be integrated into AI architecture not as a feature but as a foundational design principle.


Until AI includes intuition, empathy, and real-world engagement alongside logic, it will remain an incomplete — and potentially risky — reflection of intelligence.


Conclusion: Why AI Still Needs Us \ types of human intelligence and AI development


Artificial intelligence is an extension of humanity. But if we don’t understand our own intelligence, we can’t build ethical, transparent, or human-compatible systems. The IPER framework offers an ontological model of consciousness for developing AI that enhances, rather than replaces, the human mind.


📌 The goal is not replacement, but augmentation. AI should mirror and empower us — and for that, we must first understand ourselves.


Keywords :

  • types of human intelligence

  • human intelligence and artificial intelligence

  • IPER intelligence typology

  • Homo Intuitivus, Homo Rationalis, Homo Ethicus, Homo Practicus

  • human cognitive functions and AI

  • meaningful artificial intelligence

  • ethical AI design

  • cognitive architecture for AI

  • AI and human consciousness

  • intuition and AI systems

  • types of human intelligence and AI development

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