Transdisciplinary skills and AI ethics: toward a techné-based lifeworld extension

Abstract The intersection of transdisciplinarity and AI ethics is increasingly urgent, yet their shared epistemic and normative foundations remain underexplored. This paper argues that both fields are rooted in a neglected dimension of knowledge: the lifeworld—not as a mere societal counterpart to science, but as the embodied, skill-based basis of all human inquiry. By critically reassessing the Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research and integrating historical perspectives from Aristotle to Husserl, the analysis exposes a systemic oversight: The exclusion of techné (practical skill and technique) from contemporary frameworks. This omission perpetuates a reductive science–society dualism, obscuring the intrinsic link between transdisciplinary skills and ethical wisdom. The paper introduces a heuristic topography—a conceptual framework that maps the interplay of cultural embodiment, techné , and implicit knowledge—to reveal how these elements underpin both transdisciplinary integration and ethical judgment. Applied to the "AI and planetary polycrisis" debate, this framework challenges dominant narratives that frame AI as either a technical solution or a societal problem. Instead, it positions AI as a cultural technique—a tool and topic that must be critically engaged within the broader context of lifeworld practices. The paper concludes by advocating for a lifeworld-oriented research paradigm, one that centers ethical wisdom and transdisciplinary skills to navigate the political and ecological challenges of the planetary polycrisis.