From artificial to organic: Rethinking the roots of intelligence for digital health.

Ghimire, Prajwal; Ashkan, Keyoumars · PLOS Digit Health · 2025

expert_opinion · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

The term "artificial" implies an inherent dichotomy from the natural or organic. However, AI, as we know it, is a product of organic ingenuity-designed, implemented, and iteratively improved by human cognition. The very principles that underpin AI systems, from neural networks to decision-making algorithms, are inspired by the organic intelligence embedded in human neurobiology and evolutionary processes. The path from "organic" to "artificial" intelligence in digital health is neither mystical nor merely a matter of parameter count-it is fundamentally about organization and adaption. Thus, the boundaries between "artificial" and "organic" are far less distinct than the nomenclature suggests.