From Disciplinary Silos to Cyber-Transdisciplinary Networks: A Plural Epistemic Model for AGI-Era Knowledge Production

Cristo Leon, James Lipuma

This article extends a keynote from the 16th IMCIC 2025, offering a framework for academic institutions navigating the epistemic shifts prompted by artificial general intelligence (AGI). It argues that traditional disciplinary (Mode 1), interdisciplinary (Mode 2), and transdisciplinary (Mode 3) approaches are increasingly insufficient to address the complexity and plurality of AGI-era knowledge production.

Drawing on critical communication theories—such as the Kuhn–MacIntyre thesis on incommensurability, the Bataille–Lyotard notion of invention, Nicolescu–Ostrom’s governance frameworks, and Haraway–Scholz’s situated knowledge—the article introduces Mode 4: cyber-transdisciplinarity.1 This mode conceptualizes AGI as an epistemic co-agent, enabling real-time mediation, synthesis, and redistribution of knowledge between human and machinic actors.

Methodologically, it proposes a plural foundation that includes constructivist grounded theory, antenarrative inquiry, and intercultural competence. A case study featuring a cybernetic dashboard illustrates how institutions can foster reflexive governance through adaptive infrastructure.

The conclusion anticipates a speculative Mode 5: pan-disciplinary intelligence, characterized by AGI-facilitated planetary-scale knowledge integration. The article contends that ethical stewardship and cyber-transdisciplinary competence are essential for institutions to adapt meaningfully to AGI’s transformative potential in knowledge governance and transdisciplinary communication.

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