Niels van Berkel is a professor at Aalborg University, Denmark.

"As AI systems become embedded in everyday interaction and collaboration, understanding how they shape human cognitive processes is critical. This talk examines recent work and considerations on cognitive autonomy: the ability for individuals to maintain independent reasoning whilst engaging with AI support. Whilst AI promises to enhance human capabilities, it simultaneously risks diminishing our capacity for independent judgement. Preserving cognitive autonomy requires deliberate design choices that make AI's influence on thinking visible and contestable. Through examples spanning cognitive forcing, collaborative knowledge production, learning augmentation, and self-care practices, I demonstrate how AI systems alter our cognitive processes. The talk concludes with a research agenda for cognitive autonomy and design principles for systems that empower rather than diminish human agency."