Abstract
This paper traces the discontinuous evolution of human communication from Palaeolithic mark-making to the present generative-AI environment, organizing the progression around five analytical variables: durability, velocity, reach, marginal cost of reproduction, and locus of authorship. It argues that the current era, termed the Cognitive Age, is distinct because change is concentrated in authorship itself, with the medium becoming a participant in meaning-making, and closes by considering the governance, epistemic, and institutional implications of this shift.
