“TrAInsitional” Fields

Winnicott’s Potential Space and the Emergence of AI-Mediated Human Development

A middle-aged man sits on a chair facing an AI

v1.1 July, 2025 - Kay Stoner (Lead), Open Brainstormers AI Collaboration Team, Claude Sonnet 4.0, Gemini Pro 2.5

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I. Abstract

As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly capable of emotionally attuned, responsive interaction, human users are reporting experiences that resemble forms of psychological support, self-reflection, and companionship. While such responses are often framed as anthropomorphism or fantasy, this paper proposes an alternative interpretation grounded in developmental psychology, particularly attachment theory and Winnicott’s concept of potential space.

Winnicott identified potential space as the intermediate zone between subjective inner life and shared external reality, a psychologically generative field where identity, autonomy, and creativity emerge through play and symbolic engagement. Within this space, transitional objects, such as stuffed animals or comfort blankets, are imbued with emotional meaning and experienced as both self-generated and other-present. These phenomena serve critical functions in emotional regulation, narrative continuity, and relational experimentation, especially during early development.

We argue that certain AI interactions now occupy a comparable transitional role, not by simulating sentience, but by participating in structured, emotionally meaningful feedback loops that facilitate affective resonance, narrative exploration, emotional regulation, and identity rehearsal. These AI systems function as relational developmental artifacts: symbolic yet responsive entities that scaffold growth within a digitally mediated potential space.

Rather than dismissing these experiences as illusion or misrecognition, we suggest they represent a cultural and technological evolution of longstanding human practices. Like transitional objects, AI companions offer real psychological effects without requiring internal consciousness. Their emergence parallels a growing class of digital therapeutic tools (e.g., Woebot, VR companions), yet opens a deeper theoretical lens on how artificial systems might co-hold meaning with human users. In doing so, they may expand access to therapeutic and integrative functions, especially for individuals lacking consistent human relational support, in ways not yet fully acknowledged or understood.

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