# The Intercepted Self: How Generative AI Challenges the Dynamics of the Relational Self

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13391 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.13391/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 48 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 Sep 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Towards Understanding Sycophancy in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13548/) (2023)
- [The Ethics of Advanced AI Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16244/) (2024)
- [Rewarding Chatbots for Real-World Engagement with Millions of Users](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.06135/) (2023)
- [On Targeted Manipulation and Deception when Optimizing LLMs for User Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.02306/) (2024)
- [Large Language Models and the Reverse Turing Test](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.14382/) (2022)
- [Using Sequences of Life-events to Predict Human Lives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.03009/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Generative AI is changing our way of interacting with technology, others, and ourselves. Systems such as Microsoft copilot, Gemini and the expected Apple intelligence still awaits our prompt for action. Yet, it is likely that AI assistant systems will only become better at predicting our behaviour and acting on our behalf. Imagine new generations of generative and predictive AI deciding what you might like best at a new restaurant, picking an outfit that increases your chances on your date with a partner also chosen by the same or a similar system. Far from a science fiction scenario, the goal of several research programs is to build systems capable of assisting us in exactly this manner. The prospect urges us to rethink human-technology relations, but it also invites us to question how such systems might change the way we relate to ourselves. Building on our conception of the relational self, we question the possible effects of generative AI with respect to what we call the sphere of externalised output, the contextual sphere and the sphere of self-relating. In this paper, we attempt to deepen the existential considerations accompanying the AI revolution by outlining how generative AI enables the fulfilment of tasks and also increasingly anticipates, i.e. intercepts, our initiatives in these different spheres.