#cybernetic augmentation

[wolvensnothere]

Assume you are given the chance to decide which of our senses we first pour money into enhancing cybernetically - which of the five do you most want to see us accelerate? Vision outside the "visible" spectrum (electromagnetic senses being added falls in here, as we'd be able to perceive the effects visually)? Hearing at frequencies previously inaudible? Touch that lets us perceive micropressure changes?

When it comes to cybernetic sensory enhancement, I actually find myself most in line with people like Lepht Anonym, Neil Harbisson, or this Cavil speech from the end of BSG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3CptVZDYUIn short, i don't want to simply enhance what we have (though I do want that, too); I want to craft brand new senses.I want to be able to reconnect my sensorium for on-demand synesthesia so as to better experience the world in ways previously unimagined.Our nerve endings and conceptual spheres have nearly unlimited expansion slots. Let's use them. :)

[wolvensnothere]

To Be a Cyborg, In The Summertime, With My Love*

The dream of Cyber-eyes can be partially described as being able to look at a thing, know the exact calorie count of however much of it's in front of you. Instead we have googleglass. Which, don't get me wrong, Google Goggles are a neat first step on the road to our cybernetic/cyborg sensorium, but it ain't there, yet. *Now I have a really weird version of "Close (To The Edit)" playing in my head.

[wolvensnothere]

Everything Tagged Techne: The State of the Art

Howdy. New folks abound, so this is a link to everything I've posted related to my inkshares project "Techne: The State of the Art." Feel free to root around in there, and see what you think.

[wolvensnothere]

To my students, at the start of their spring break

'The increased level of sophistication of [functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging] scans has already enabled  scientists to use data from brain scans taken as individuals view scenes  and predict whether a subject was, for instance, viewing a beach or  city scene, an animal or a building.' http://news.yale.edu/2014/03/25/yale-researchers-reconstruct-facial-images-locked-viewer-s-mind '"The event will include a race where competitors control an avatar via a brain interface." http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26766095 'And check out this video: Jamais Cascio: "Cascio's Laws of Robotics" http://videos.syntience.com/ai-meetups/jamaiscascio.html 'In addition, when talking about machine intelligence and machine consciousness, consider the difference between phrases like those and "artificial intelligence." Consider "Autonomous Created/Generated Intelligence." 'Finally, remember that functionalism says we're not just feedback loops, but we're cybernetic feedback loops. That means we're feedback loops which can regulate themselves.' Previously, I'd sent them 'a potential solution to the problem of other minds: 'http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/08/27/researcher-controls-colleagues-motions-in-1st-human-brain-to-brain-interface/ 'Never forget that we live in a "science fictional condition," where the future is present, right now.'