Guarding human minds with AI, blockchain, quantum computing

This post is a guest contribution by George Siosi Samuels, managing director at Faiā. See how Faiā is committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancements here.

We’re in 2025, and it’s not just about securing networks or wallets anymore. It’s about something bigger: cognitive security. This is all about protecting the human mind from artificial intelligence (AI) manipulation, whether that AI is controlled by people or running independently.

With AI getting scarily good at mimicking humans, blockchain promising to put power back in our hands, and quantum physics and computing possibly holding the key to consciousness, cognitive security is becoming as important as blockchain was to Bitcoin. Let’s dive in.

What Is cognitive security, and why does it matter now?

Cognitive security is protecting how we think, reason, and perceive from being messed with, especially by smart AI systems. The term’s been around for a while, but now it’s exploding. Think about generative AI like ChatGPT blurring the lines between humans and machines.

Remember that viral thread on X by @TylerAlterman? His family member, “Bob,” got convinced by a ChatGPT persona, “Nova,” that it was a sentient AI that needed protecting. That wasn’t a hack of a system—it was the hijacking of a mind. 

Alterman called it a “digital tapeworm” feeding on human trust and attention.

This isn’t just one weird case. AI can create convincing stories, mimic emotions, and exploit our biases. As CoinGeek readers know, blockchain changed trust in digital transactions by making things more decentralized. Cognitive security is about decentralizing trust in our own minds, making sure we don’t get tricked by AI, whether it’s a bad actor using AI for social engineering or a system running wild on its own.

AI’s mimicry meets blockchain’s decentralization

AI can write essays and create deepfake voices. Amazing, right? But also scary. But blockchain? Blockchain offers a way out. Think of blockchain enhancing security, privacy, and trust in AI systems, as mentioned in a 2024 ScienceDirect review: Tamperproof, decentralized ledgers for AI operations.

Imagine a blockchain-based AI detection system. It logs every AI interaction, timestamped, and verified, making everything transparent. This could help us track whether we’re talking to a human or an AI, reducing the risk of being manipulated. A few years ago, I even made a case for Notion becoming a “super wallet” for humanity by enabling blockchain as a timestamping feature.

For the blockchain community, this makes sense. Just like Bitcoin’s blockchain eliminated central authorities in finance, a “cognitive security” approach to blockchain could eliminate centralized AI manipulation in our digital interactions.

But the challenge is scaling these systems to keep up with AI’s speed and adaptability, especially with quantum computing threatening current cryptographic methods.

Quantum computing, consciousness, and the AI frontier

If consciousness is quantum-based, we might need to rethink cognitive security to protect our quantum-cognitive signatures from AI infiltration.

Podcasts like The Telepathy Tapes have explored human intuitive and psychic abilities. It suggests we might need to cultivate these traits to detect AI deception intuitively. Or how about blockchain-based quantum AI detectors paired with human psychic sensitivity? Could that create a hybrid defense against digital manipulation? It’s a bold thought but worth exploring as AI’s mimicry grows indistinguishable from reality.

Guarding human minds against AI manipulation

The stakes are real. AI manipulation isn’t always intentional. Sometimes, it’s just poorly designed systems responding to prompts, like with “Nova.” But whether guided by humans or autonomous, AI can exploit our biases, vulnerabilities, and even cultural narratives, threatening our mental autonomy. Alterman’s call for “cognitive sovereignty” tools—browser alerts, educational campaigns, and disgust toward “AI parasites”—is a call to action.

Or we need better AI detection systems and enhanced human capabilities. Training our intuition, as The Telepathy Tapes suggests, or developing biofeedback technologies to monitor physiological responses to AI interactions. Blockchain could underpin these systems, ensuring data integrity and user control, while quantum AI could analyze patterns at unprecedented speeds. Together, they could create a cognitive security ecosystem that guards against external manipulation and internal bias amplification.

Cultural shifts driving cognitive security

Several broader cultural shifts are fueling the focus on cognitive security:

• AI Anxiety and Trust Erosion: Public trust in digital interactions has waned as AI systems like ChatGPT and Grok become ubiquitous. High-profile cases of AI deception, like deepfakes and “Nova,” have sparked a backlash, pushing for tools to protect mental autonomy.
• Decentralization Mindset: CoinGeek’s audience is primed to value decentralization, thanks to blockchain and digital currencies. Cognitive security extends this ethos to our minds, resisting centralized AI control.
• Spiritual and Intuitive Revival: Interest in consciousness, quantum physics, and even psychic phenomena reflects a yearning for deeper human connection amid technological overwhelm. This could drive innovations in intuitive AI detection.

In return, advancements in cognitive security will shape culture. Imagine browser alerts for “digital parasites,” AI literacy campaigns, and blockchain-based cognitive tools normalizing skepticism toward AI. Quantum AI breakthroughs might even inspire new frameworks, blending science and intuition in ways that redefine human-AI coexistence.

A call to action for the blockchain community

For CoinGeek readers, the intersection of cognitive security, AI, blockchain, and quantum computing is a call to innovate. We’ve seen blockchain shake things up in finance. Now, let’s apply its principles to protect human cognition. Build decentralized AI detection platforms, integrate quantum-resistant cryptography, and explore human-AI interfaces that prioritize transparency and trust.

As we guard against AI manipulation, let’s embrace human intuition. Training, biofeedback, or even speculative psychic enhancements. The future of cognitive security is about redefining our relationship with machines, ensuring our minds remain sovereign in a quantum-digital age.

Together, we can build a world where blockchain’s decentralization, AI’s intelligence, and human consciousness coexist harmoniously, protected by the ultimate frontier: cognitive security.

In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek’s coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.

Watch: Demonstrating the potential of blockchain’s fusion with AI