A Conceptual Framework for Human AI Collaboration: Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives

Meyti Eka Apriyani (Department of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, State University of Malang, 65145, Indonesia)
Syaad Patmanthara (Department of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, State University of Malang, 65145, Indonesia)

Energy: Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu-ilmu Teknik
ENERGY: JURNAL ILMIAH ILMU-ILMU TEKNIK (Special Issue on Engineering Paradigm 2025 Edition)

Collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) has become a pivotal phenomenon in the evolution of information systems, yet its philosophical foundations remain underexplored. This study develops an integrative conceptual framework that combines ontological and epistemological perspectives to examine how human–AI collaboration shapes knowledge creation and decision-making within sociotechnical contexts. The proposed framework identifies five ontological levels of AI agency and four epistemological processes underlying hybrid knowledge formation. It further integrates six interrelated dimensions—ontological, epistemological, technical, ethical, social, and organizational—that collectively define the dynamics of human–AI collaboration. The findings contribute to the theoretical discourse by introducing the constructs of quasi-epistemic entities and hybrid epistemology, which reconceptualize AI not merely as a computational artifact but as a participant in epistemic processes, thereby extending existing theories of distributed cognition and epistemic accountability beyond instrumental human–machine models. Practically, the framework informs the design of transparent, adaptive, and ethically aligned human–AI systems within information-intensive environments.