Couple Around a Task
Define a bounded epistemic, creative, or practical task rather than attributing a global trait to the person–AI pair.
The coupled system as the unit of analysis
Combined Intelligence
A model for studying task-bounded human–AI systems in which outputs from either participant change the other participant’s next representation, judgment, or action.
Status and boundary: Descriptive theoretical framework. The book explicitly makes no claim to have coined the phrase and calls for comparative testing.
Architecture
How the framework is organized
Create Reciprocal Interaction
Require iterative exchange in which both human and machine contributions alter what happens next.
Preserve Orientation
Keep purpose, evidence ranking, boundaries, consequence, and accountability explicit rather than letting fluent generation determine direction.
Compare Baselines
Evaluate the coupled system against relevant human-alone, AI-alone, or alternate-system baselines instead of assuming that a good artifact proves synergy.
Separate Capability from Wisdom
Higher performance does not establish moral maturity, truth, consciousness, or human worth.
Applications
Where the framework can support thinking
Human–AI researchOrganizational AI designEducation and learningProfessional augmentationCollective intelligenceGovernance and ethics
What it does not do
The framework is presented at the level supported by the source manuscript. It does not become a diagnostic test, a guarantee, a professional license, or an automated decision authority merely because it has a memorable structure.
Use it to improve inquiry, make assumptions visible, and organize human judgment. High-stakes legal, clinical, employment, financial, safety, religious, or regulated decisions still require the appropriate qualified authority.