Cognitive Enhancement Theory

Mensa World Gathering 2018
Indianapolis IN, July 4, 2018
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga
Cognitive Enhancement
Melanie Swan
Philosophy, Purdue University
melanie@Cognitive
EnhancementStudies.org
Artificial Intelligence-Intelligence Augmentation

4 Jul 2018
Discussion Questions
1
1. Would you consider joining a Cloudmind (a cloud-
based collaboration of human and machine minds)?
 Premise: safely harness additional resources
2. What would you want to do in a cloudmind?
1. Solve problems? (math, science, political, social)
2. Pursue creativity? (the Yes-and Cloudmind)
3. Discuss or debate topics of interest?
4. Learn new things? Visit new places?
3. What safeguards would have to be in place?
1. Guaranteed exit and no loss of personal identity
2. Autonomy preserved (cloudmind is not groupmind)
?
??
Source: Swan, M. (2016). The Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces: Blockchaining Your Way into a Cloudmind. Journal of
Evolution and Technology. 26(2).

4 Jul 2018
Cognitive Enhancement 2
Melanie Swan, Technology Theorist
 Philosophy Department, Purdue University,
Indiana USA
 Founder, Institute for Blockchain Studies
 Singularity University Instructor; Institute for Ethics
and Emerging Technology Affiliate Scholar; EDGE
Essayist; FQXi Advisor
Traditional Markets Background Economics and Financial Theory
Leadership
New Economies research group
Source: http://www.melanieswan.com, http://blockchainstudies.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NewEconomies

4 Jul 2018
Cognitive Enhancement Agenda
3
 Method
 Theoretical model development
 Problem
 Defining human identity in the context of machines
 Solutions
 Biomedical Advance
 Personal Identity
 Cloudminds
 Conclusion

4 Jul 2018
Methodology: Theoretical Model Development
Simple Causal Model
Source: Swan, M. (2018). Cognitive Enhancement Theoretical Model.
Sun
Independent Variable
(Construct)
Research Question:
How does the sun shining relate to how many people are outside?
Hypothesis: The more the sun is shining, the more people are outside
People Outside
Dependent Variable
(Performance Measure)

4 Jul 2018
Simple Theoretical Causal Model
Sun
Independent Variable
(Construct)
Research Question:
How does the sun shining relate to how many people are outside?
Hypothesis: The more the sun is shining, the more people are outside
People Outside
Dependent Variable
(Performance Measure)
Temperature # of Days
Moderating Variables

4 Jul 2018
“Waiting for Carnot” problem
Source: Kelly, K. (1994). Out of Control.
 Simple causal models and unifying theories are not
available in complex domains
 Biology, Markets, Quantum Gravity

4 Jul 2018
Effective (Field) Theory Prediction
Coarse-
graining
Explanation in more Complex Phenomena
Source: SFI, Lecture 1: Coarse-Graining, Renormalization & Universality, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqbWVoZVOfQ
Fine-grained Theory
Calibration
Small-scale Measurement
Simulation
Agent-based modeling
Lattice QCD
Protein Folding

4 Jul 2018
Theory of Cognitive Enhancement
Independent Variables
Research Question:
How do technology and mindset influence cognitive enhancement?
Hypothesis: A sequential evolution of changes in technology and mindset
is necessary for cognitive enhancement
Cognitive
Enhancement
Dependent Variable
Tools and
Techniques
Technical
Conceptual
Shift
Social
Biomedical
Advance
Cloudmind
Personal
Identity
1
2
3
Near-term Long-term

4 Jul 2018
Thesis
9
Exceeding current cognitive limitations will require
both technological advance
and progression in mindset as to the notion of
personal identity and its confines,
for example to contemplate joining a collaborative
mind community since biomedical advance can
only do so much so fast

4 Jul 2018
10
 Method
 Problem
 Solutions
 Cloudminds
 Conclusion

4 Jul 2018
No
11
Yes Not sure
Do you want a robot to take your job?
Source: Swan, M. "Automation Economy: An Abundance Philosophy of Economics" In Surviving the Machine Economy. Eds.
Hughes, LaGrandeur, Palgrave Macmillan. 2017.

4 Jul 2018
Already a Multi-species Society
12
 Markets
 40-70% volume
programmatic trading
 Future of work
 50% jobs at risk of
technological outsourcing
by 2045
Sources: Miller, R.S. and Shorter, G. (2016). High Frequency Trading: Overview of Recent Developments. U.S. CRS. 7-5700.
R44443. Frey, C.B. and Osborne, M.A. (2013). The Future of Employment: How susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation. Oxford.

4 Jul 2018
Problem
13
http://www.robotandhwang.com/attorneys
 Defining human
identity in the context
of machines

4 Jul 2018
Technological Unemployment
 Definition: jobs outsourced to technology
 Estimate: Half (47%) of employment is at risk of automation in
the next two decades – Carl Frey, Oxford, 2015
 Global driverless-car market $42 billion by 2025 – BCG, 2015
 Transportation = 10% GDP – US DOT, 2002
 Why are there still so many jobs in a world that could be
automating more quickly? – David Autor, MIT, 2015
14
Source: Swan, M. "Is Technological Unemployment Real?” In Surviving the Machine Age: Intelligent Technology and the
Transformation of Human Work. James Hughes and Kevin LaGrandeur, Eds., Palgrave Macmillan, Forthcoming 2017.

4 Jul 2018
Routine Tasks (physical and cognitive)
outsourced to Machines
15
Source: The Economist (2016) US Population Survey, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,
https://www.ft.com/content/1dbd8c60-0cc6-11e6-ad80-67655613c2d6
US Population Survey, Job Growth 1983-2013
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

4 Jul 2018
Global Robotics Spending: $67 billion 2025e
16
Source: https://www.siemens.com/innovation/en/home/pictures-of-the-future/digitalization-and-software/autonomous-systems-facts-
and-forecasts.html

4 Jul 2018
Technological Unemployment Identity Crisis
17
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(original)
Survive
(reach baseline)
Thrive
(extend baseline)
Source: Swan, M. (2017). Cognitive Easing: Human Identity Crisis in a World of Technology,
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/Swan20170107.
 Human identity defined by labor contribution
 Lower-level Maslow for surviving not thriving
?

4 Jul 2018
Solution: Reconceptualization of “Life”
18
Work Leisure
Community
Exercise
Creativity
Learning
Music Sports
Spirituality
Clubs
Source: Swan, M. (2016). Abundance Economics. http://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/abundance-economics
Productive and enjoyable engagement
of faculties (job 2.0 or other)
Health
TeachingRelaxation
Fun
Life 1.0 Life 2.0
Job of the future: Life Coach
becomes Life Designer
Art
Teams

4 Jul 2018
Artificial
Intelligence
Intelligence
Augmentation
A machine performing physical or
cognitive tasks usually conducted
by a human: involves processing
and possibly decision-making
Augmenting natural human
intelligence with organic or
inorganic means
Rapprochement: Human and Machine

4 Jul 2018
“Artificial Intelligence” coined 1956
 Dartmouth Summer Research Project on
Artificial Intelligence
 Not such a challenge to Human Intelligence if entitled
“Symbolic Systems”?
20
 Famous attendees:
John McCarthy,
Marvin Minsky,
Claude Shannon.
John Nash,
Herbert Simon,
Allen Newell

4 Jul 2018
What is the Problem? Brains are:
Source: http://trent.st/blog/2015/2/12/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-cognitive-enhancem.html

4 Jul 2018
Solutions?
Source: http://trent.st/blog/2015/2/12/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-cognitive-enhancem.html

4 Jul 2018
23
 Method
 Problem
 Solutions
 Cloudminds
 Conclusion

4 Jul 2018
What is Cognitive Enhancement?
24
Cognitive enhancement is the amplification or
extension of the core capacities of the mind
through improvement or augmentation of
information processing systems
Source: Bostrom, N. and Sandberg, A. (2009). Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics, Regulatory Challenges.
Sci Eng Ethics 15:311–341

4 Jul 2018
Cognitive Enhancement by what means?
 Pharmacological
 Prescription
 Smart drug nootropics
 Supplements
 Medical device
 Nanoparticles
 Nanorobots
 Deep-brain electrical
stimulation (Parkinson’s)
 Other means
 Environment
 Exercise
25
 Which Cognitive Skills?
 Memory, thinking, learning,
reasoning, attention

4 Jul 2018
Reconceptualization of Health
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_2.0
Health 2.0: Expanded Notion of Health
 No longer just “disease and cure”
 Longitudinal, predictive, multi-faceted

4 Jul 2018
$800 bn Neurological Disease spend (US, 2017)
Source: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/03/28/Nearly-800-billion-spent-per-year-in-US-on-neurological-
diseases/7241490715686/
Cognitive
Enhancement
Pathology
Resolution
 Basic medical research findings for Pathology
Resolution might be applied to Cognitive Enhancement
Health
Outcomes
Self-expression
Enhancement
Normalization
Improvement
Cure
Prevention

4 Jul 2018
Top 10 Cognitive Enhancement Apps
 Optimal Learning
 CRISPR Genomic Editing and
Optogenetic Light Therapy
 Internal and External Attentional
Systems
 Neuroaesthetics: the Beautiful and
the Sublime
 Innovation Spikes and Creativity
 Brain Imaging, Mapping, and
Simulation
28
Neocortical Neurogenesis in Mammals
lafayette.edu

4 Jul 2018
App 1: Learning: Whole-picture vs. Elemental
Source: Acheson, Gresack, and Risbrough. Hippocampal dysfunction effects on context memory:
possible etiology for posttraumatic stress disorder. Neuropharmacology. 2012 Feb;62(2):674-85.
Elemental Learning
(hippocampal disruption; only
element-specific)
Configural Learning
(normal; whole picture)
Hypothesis:
recurrence of a
single feature of
the traumatic
event could
trigger PTSD
episode
Hypothesis:
recurrence of
entire event
necessary to
trigger PTSD
episode

4 Jul 2018
App 2: CRISPR/cas9 Technology
cas: CRISPR-associated system
 CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short
Palindromic Repeats) is a DNA immune system
technique found in bacteria and archaea
 The cell’s genome contains a copy of DNA snippets that
have previously attacked the cell
 The cellular security system uses these examples to detect
and delete any new and similar edits to its genome
 Implication: CRISPR is
a general purpose
precision technology to
seek and delete
unwanted genomic
sequences (disease)

4 Jul 2018
App 2: CRISPR germline editing in humans
Source: Ma, H., Mitalipov, S. et al. (2017). Correction of a pathogenic gene mutation in human embryos.
Nature. 548(7668):413-419. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608350/first-human-embryos-edited-in-us/
 CRISPR germline editing in human embryo (Aug 2017)
 Correction of a pathogenic gene mutation in human embryos
 MYBPC3 mutation (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)
 CRISPR–Cas9 targeting to activate a germline-specific
DNA repair response; wild-type MYBPC3 (unmutated)
 Off-target mutations and mosaicism avoided by
modulating cell cycle stages

4 Jul 2018
App 3. Optogenetics
32
Source: Reardon. S. (2016). Light-controlled genes and neurons poised for clinical trials. Nature News.
Nov 2017: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/optogenetic-therapies-move-closer-to-clinical-use-30611
 Light-controlled therapy
 A technique used to express light-sensitive proteins in
neurons for real-time monitoring and control
 Human trials for retinal disease (2016)
 Retinitis pigmentosa destroys photoreceptors in the eye, so
instead bring light sensitivity to retinal ganglion cells, which
pass visual signals from photoreceptors to the brain
 Inject blind patients with viruses carrying genes that encode
light-sensitive proteins called opsins
 Cells fire when stimulated with blue light
 Mechanism: use genetically-modified opsins called
channelrhodopsins to open neurons and allow the ion
channels to enter the cells when exposed to blue light

4 Jul 2018
App 4: Cerebral Organoids
33
 Grafted brain organoids Human
cells to mouse) help improve
understanding of neurological
disorders (autism, dementia, and
schizophrenia)
 Few mm across microtissue samples
 Miniature human brain organoids grown
in test tubes
 Tool for disease modeling and drug
testing
 Layers of brain cells with defined
regions that resemble those seen in
immature, embryonic brains
Sources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180416121558.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/28/miniature-brains-test-tubes-neuroscience

4 Jul 2018
Personalized Genomics:
Investigate whether a genetic
predisposition for loss aversion and
optimism bias may be linked to real-life
behavior
Hypothesis: Individuals with
polymorphisms in genes related to neural
processes may be more susceptible to
two phenomena that shape human
thinking, loss aversion and optimism bias
Genotypic Examination: 5-HTTLPR,
COMT Val(158)Met, T102C,
DRD2/ANKK1, PDYN, OXTR
Phenotypic Examination: Loss Aversion,
Optimum Bias Instruments
App 5: Thinking Fast and Slow
 2 modes of decision making
 System 1: fast, gut reaction
 Automatic, fast and often
unconscious way of thinking. It
is autonomous and efficient,
requiring little energy or
attention, but is prone to biases
and systematic errors.
 System 2: slow, deliberative
 Effortful, slow and controlled
way of thinking
Source: DIYgenomics http://diygenomics.pbworks.com/w/page/23041784/Welcome%20to%20DIYgenomics%21

4 Jul 2018
App 6: Neuroaesthetics
Source: Spee, B., Ishizu T., et al. (2018). Neuropsychopharmacological aesthetics: A theoretical consideration of
pharmacological approaches to causative brain study in aesthetics and art. Prog Brain Res. 237:343-372.
The Biology of Aesthetics
 Objective
 Understand the
mechanism underlying
perception, emotion, and
aesthetic experience
 Aesthetic experience
involves many brain
centers
 Knowledge and meaning
 Emotional processing
 Sensory-motor system

4 Jul 2018
App 7: The Beautiful and the Sublime
Source: Ishizu, T. and Zeki, S. (2014). A neurobiological enquiry into the origins of our experience of the sublime and
beautiful. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 8:891. http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00891/full
 Beauty and sublime are different
 Experience of beauty is associated
with feelings of pleasure, reward,
and satisfaction
 Experience of the sublime is
associated with awe, fear, and terror
 The sublime engages different
brain systems
 Inferior temporal cortex,
posterior hippocampus, and
inferior/middle frontal gyri

4 Jul 2018
App 8: Attentional Systems
Source: Farb, N.A.S. et al. (2013). Attentional Modulation of Primary Interoceptive and Exteroceptive Cortices. Cerebral
Cortex. 23(1): 114–126. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/decoding-body-watcher/
Interoceptive attention via insula (top)
directs neural representations of the
body’s internal state vs external
attention via visual system (bottom)
 Internal landscape surveyed by
the older limbic brain, not the
prefrontal cortex
 Internal and external attentional
systems are different
 Internal (notice heart beating rapidly);
insula and posterior cingulate
 Enhanced insula connectivity with the
posterior ventromedial thalamus
 External (notice a red light); neocortex
 Enhanced visual cortex connectivity with
the inferior parietal lobule and pulvinar of
the thalamus

4 Jul 2018
The Meditating
Brain
38
App 9: Innovation Spikes
Sources: Wan X, Improvisations. PLoS One. 2014 Dec 9;9(12)., http://brainworldmagazine.com/the-aha-
moment/#sthash.ApvGH3BR.dpuf, Parvizi, J. et al. The will to persevere. Neuron. 2013 Dec 18;80(6):1359-67
Gamma WavesAnterior Cingulate Cortex:
An imminent challenge
followed by a determined
attitude to overcome

4 Jul 2018
creativity.
39
Geniuses: Einstein, Edison, daVinci, Darwin,
Picasso, Michelangelo, Galileo, Freud, Mozart
Source: http://time.com/2907776/strokes-of-genius-heres-how-the-most-creative-people-get-their-ideas/
 Not all innovation is one
Eureka moment of fully-
formed ideas
 Iteration of ideas,
prototypes, solutions
 Lots of sketches of
thoughts, pictures,
diagrams, words
Alice: 6 impossible
things before
breakfast

4 Jul 2018
think in possibility.
see the world as it could be, not how it is.
40
Actuality Possibility

4 Jul 2018
Brain Imaging, Mapping and Simulation
App 10: Brain Imaging (2011)
Sources: http://gallantlab.org/, http://news.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies,
https://www.fastcompany.com/1814327/we-know-what-you-want-and-when-you-will-buy-it
Use Case: NeuroMarketing

4 Jul 2018
Brain Imaging (2018)
Source: http://gallantlab.org/

4 Jul 2018
Brain Mapping
43
 Human Connectome Project
 3D mapping of neural pathways
 Neocortical connects: regular
grid and neighborhood structure
 Blue Brain Project
 Neocortical scanning,
simulation, modeling (rat 2011,
human 2023E)
 UTexas Cerebellum Modeling
 Cerebellum simulation
 Massively repeated cerebellum
wiring pattern
Sources: http://www.humanconnectome.org; http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~ai-lab/pubs/NeuralNets12-Li.pdf’
http://newbooksinbrief.com/2012/11/27/25-a-summary-of-how-to-create-a-mind-the-secret-of-human-thought-revealed-by-ray-kurzweil
3D Neural Modeling
Neocortical Column
Simulation
Neocortical Grid and
Neighborhood Structure

4 Jul 2018
Medical Advance with Neural Applications
44

4 Jul 2018
Neural Nanomedicine
 Targeted drug delivery
 Quantum-dot
biomolecular imaging
 Neural tissue engineering
 DNA nanotechnology
 Medical nanorobots
Respirocytes Microbivore Artery Cleaner
Drug Delivery Nanoparticles
VasculocyteClottocytes
Neural TissueDNA Nanotechnology Quantum Dot Dyes
Farther future
Present
Source: Swan, M. Top ten recent nanomedical advances. Book chapter in Clinical Nanomedicine: from Bench to Bedside 2011,
Forthcoming. Holliday Junction: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130321141448.ht

4 Jul 2018
Regenerative Medicine and 3D Printing
46
Whole Organ Decellularization and
Recellularization (Heart)
Organ Regeneration
Lab-grown Meat
Personalized 3D Models

4 Jul 2018
Synthetic Biology Revolution
 Vision
 Harness biology as an engineering medium
 Definition
 Directed redesign and de novo construction of biological entities
such as enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells
 Extensive applications
 Energy, Food, Pharmaceuticals, Materials, Chemicals
 Main approaches (cellular chassis runs DNA code)
 Metabolic engineering (bacteria produce diesel)
 Extending E. coli capacity (yeast produces medicine)
 Biomimicry (replicate biological function in synthetic systems)
 de novo Synthesis (create new functionality)
“This century’s transistor”
Source: Swan, M. Synbio Revolution: Biology is the Engineering Medium, 6/26/11
http://futurememes.blogspot.com/2011/06/synbio-revolution-biology-is.html

4 Jul 2018
Bioengineering Design
http://parts.igem.org/
Select System, Device, or Part (20,000) Level
Metal Binding and
Sensing Part for use in
Bioremediation

4 Jul 2018
Print DNA Code into Cellular Chassis

4 Jul 2018
Nanotechnology: Microfluidics
50
 Neuron cell culturing
 Neuron-on-a-chip
 MEMS, microfluidics
 Lab-on-a-chip1
 Lung-on-a-chip2
 Paper-based microfluidics3
Neuron-on-a-chip
Lung-on-a-chip2Lab-on-a-chip1
1http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpressrelease/80/harvards-wyss-institute-creates-living-human-gutonachip
2web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/human-body-on-a-chip-research-funding-0724.html
3bmf.aip.org/resource/1/biomgb/v6/i1/p011301_s1?bypassSSO=1
Lab-on-Paper
Diagnostics (DFA.org)3

4 Jul 2018
51
 Method
 Problem
 Solutions
 Cloudminds
 Conclusion

4 Jul 2018
Personal Identity
52
 Weak Claim
 The concept of personal identity has not been introspected
 Strong Claim
 There is no reason, biological or otherwise, for the rigidity and
exclusivity of personal identity, given safe expansion methods
Source: Swan, M. 2014. The Non-Cruciality Of Personal Identity: Immortality As Possibility In The Prospect of Immortality: Fifty Years Later.
Charles Tandy, Ed. Ann Arbor MI: Ria University Press. 385-420.

4 Jul 2018
What is Personal Identity?
 Dictionary (Webster):
 The persistent and continuous unity of the
individual person
 Intuitively appealing view
 Persistence
 Continuity of memory
 Sense of what it is like to be you over time
 But humans are solipsist (ex: selfie
culture)
53
Solipsism: the idea that only one’s own mind is sure to exist

4 Jul 2018
Different views of Personal Identity
 Religion
 Immaterial souls, pure egos
 Philosophy
 Psychological continuity (Locke)
 Direct psychological connections between
beliefs, desires, intentions, experiential
memories, character traits, and actions
 Only human-ordered continuity (Hume)
 Bundles of perceptions
 Biology
 Unitary physical body and mind
 Brute physical relation with the environment
54
Solipsism: the idea that only one’s own mind is sure to exist

4 Jul 2018
Hypothesis
 If the evolutionary biological drivers that caused personal
identity to develop as a fitness adaptation were to
change, the need for personal identity too would change
and perhaps disappear
 Main evolutionary biological and cultural drivers:
 Resource acquisition, status garnering, mate selection, group
acceptance, gender roles (Hrdy)
 Absent these drivers, how would the adaptation benefit
conferred by personal identity change?
 Examples of shifts in social goals and outcomes
 Worldwide birth rate declines
 Below replacement population declines (Japan, Italy, US)
55

4 Jul 2018
Personal Identity: Multidisciplinary Question
56
Philosophy of Mind Psychology
Evolutionary Biology
Evolutionary Psychology
Philosophy of Biology
Theoretical Biology
Social Theory
Sociology
Sociobiology
Biology

4 Jul 2018
Philosophical Views of Personal Identity
 Traditional ‘philosophy of mind’ view
 Assumes already-existing subject
 Personal identity needed for continuity
and persistence
 Personal identity is not required for
the survival of the person, relational
experience between past/future
selves and experience is (Parfit)
 fMRI studies: We procrastinate because
we think of our future selves as strangers
 Third persons no different than politicians
or celebrities
57
Sources: http://nautil.us/issue/9/time/why-we-procrastinate citing van Gelder JL, Hershfield HE, Nordgren LF. (2013).
Vividness of the future self predicts delinquency. Psychol Sci. 24(6):974-80, and Pronin, Emily. (2008). How we see
ourselves and how we see others. Science. 320(5880):1177-80.

4 Jul 2018
Biology: Individuals are not a Privileged Unit
 What are the appropriate units in
biology?
 Organisms do not play a privileged role
 Genes, genomes, mechanisms,
phenotypes, gene pools, organisms,
populations, ecologies
 Individual is merely convenient
terminology
 Individuals are spatiotemporally localized
entities that have reasonably sharp
beginnings and endings in time
58
Hull, David (1980), "Individuality and Selection," Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11: 311-332.

4 Jul 2018
Multidisciplinary Conclusion: Personal
Identity is Ephemeral and Constructive
 Hypothesis is supported by multiple fields
 If the evolutionary biological drivers that caused personal
identity to develop as a fitness adaptation were to change, the
need for personal identity too would change/disappear
 Biology
 Individuality is not personal identity
 Psychology/Sociology
 Malleability of self
 Philosophy
 Relationality and subjectivation
 Evolutionary Biology
 Fitness adaptation
59

4 Jul 2018
Personal Identity: custom and familiarity
 Preferencing of personal identity and
humans as an organizational unit is
custom and familiarity - so far there been
no other alternative
 Having known only one mode of existence we
may have developed a natural attachment
 Assumption (bias?) that memory,
emotion, and ‘meaning’ can only be
instantiated in humans, but it is possible
that in the future, any pattern associated
with the human brain might be stored as
information
60

4 Jul 2018
61
 Human-Machine Relations
 Artificial Intelligence-Intelligence Augmentation
 Problem
 Solutions
 Cloudminds
 Conclusion

4 Jul 2018
What is a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)?
 A brain-computer interface (BCI) is
technology linking the brain to a
computer
 An external or internally-implanted
computational system that allows a person
to control a computer using only brainwaves
 Example: reading the electrical signals from
the brain as a person focuses on a computer
screen to perform an operation
 Used to repair human cognitive and
sensory-motor function
 Over 324,200 worldwide cochlear implants
62
Source: https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/cochlear-implant/

4 Jul 2018
Consumer BCIs
24/7 Consumer EEG, Eye-tracking, Emotion-Mapping, Augmented Reality Glasses
63
Consumer EEG Rigs
1.0
2.0
Augmented Reality Glasses
Source: Swan, M. Sensor Mania! The Internet of Things, Objective Metrics, and the Quantified Self 2.0. J Sens
Actuator Netw 2012.

4 Jul 2018
Current status of BCIs
64
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3408826/Type-BRAIN-High-quality-portable-mind-monitor-lead-breakthrough-
human-machine-interaction.html, https://www.cognionics.net
 Dry-attached EEG BCI (2016)
 In-ear (2018)

4 Jul 2018
BCI Future Application
Experience-sharing
Source: https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10101319050523971
Immersive Reality Headsets
Real-time experiences: “you feel like you are actually
present with others in another place”

4 Jul 2018
Think through the problem of human-machine
collaboration in one of the most vulnerable cases:
opening our brains up to big data in BCI Cloudminds

4 Jul 2018
Concept
Advanced Internal BCI Implementation
67
Physiological integration of possibly
billions of dedicated autonomous
nanorobots, which would self-
migrate and directly connect with the
neurons, synapses, and glial cells of
the neocortex, toward the collective
provision of a stable and robust
interface with the Cloud
Embedded Wireless
A constellation of autonomous
nanorobots possibly programmed to self-
embed into the peripheral calvaria or
pericranium of the skull to form a highly
organized and interconnected streaming
data transfer complex that would interact
with specifically targeted neurons and
synapses within the neocortex
Source: Boehm, F. (2013). Nanomedical Device and Systems Design: Challenges, Possibilities, Visions.

4 Jul 2018
BCIs: Future Implications
24-7 connectivity to the Internet and other minds
 BCI functionality of typing on a keyboard with
the mind suggests the possibility of having an
always-on brain-Internet connection
 Ubiquitous BCIs
 Cell phones connected every individual to the internet
 BCIs connect every brain? (cloudmind, telepathic
noosphere)
 Key functionality: 24-7 connectivity
 Human cognitive processing continuously linked to
the internet and other minds in cloudminds via BCI,
VR headsets, QS wearables, smart contact lenses
68
Source: Swan, M. (2016). The Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces: Blockchaining Your Way into a Cloudmind. Journal
of Evolution and Technology. 26(2).

4 Jul 2018
“Better
horse”
Cloudmind
“Horseless
carriage”
“Car” 3.0
2.0
1.0 “Smartphone on board”
Pathology Resolution
Platform for human-machine
collaboration

4 Jul 2018
A Cloudmind is a cloud-based collaboration of
human and machine minds (with safeguards and
permissions)
‘Mind’ is generally denoting an entity with some
capacity for processing, not the volitionary action and
free will of a consciousness agent
What is a Cloudmind?

4 Jul 2018
Types of Cloudminds
 Machine minds
 Deep Learners
 Deep Thinkers
 Human minds (unitary)
 Backups, sims, digital selves
 Human-human minds
 Human-machine minds
 A person plus a cloud-based personal assistant
‘thinker helper’ (Siri) or companion (Her)
 Mind-pools
 Multi-agent minds operating together
71

4 Jul 2018
Company: Cloudminds
72
 Cloud-based systems for intelligent robots
 Human-augmented robotic intelligence, secure smart
terminals, and robot control technology

4 Jul 2018
Prototypical Cloudminds
 Functionality already exists
 Automated cloud-based coordination of
processing activity by multiple agents
 Mechanical Turk
 Orchestrated tasks requiring human intelligence
 Crowdsourced eLabor marketplaces
 Topcoder, Elance, Upwork (formerly Odesk), etc.
 Humans as a community computing network
 Each person a computing node operating on data
 Big data algorithms
 Classifiers, recommendation parsers, sentiment
engines, neural nets
73

4 Jul 2018
Cloudmind Starter App: SETI@home for the brain
 Sell permissioned braincycles to the
cloud (like selling generated electricity
back into the power grid)
 Sharing unused computing resource
 Community computing projects such as
SETI@home or protein Folding@home
 Timesharing cognitive processing
power during sleep cycles or other
down time
 Securely and unobtrusively share
one’s own unused resources,
downtime braincycles
74

4 Jul 2018
3 Levels of BCI Cloudmind Applications
1. Health and Biology
 Survival, pathology resolution, cure and
enhancement, health-tracking, daily health
check, neural data-logging to EMRs, virtual
patient modeling
2. Information and Entertainment
 In-mind 24-7 information query (antiquated
device lookup), permissioned experience-
sharing, crowdfile event memories
3. Actualization and Self-creating
 Realization of individual cognitive and artistic
potential, individual and collaborative sense
75
Source: EMR: Electronic Medical Record

4 Jul 2018
Cloudmind App
Crowdminding an IoT Archipelago
 Home and building security: commanding
IoT-connected objects in the environment
 Sense of feeling as one entity: commander
and ship, remote telepresencing robot
 Control physical objects in a local or
remote environment
 Security guard commands whole smart
building or complex
 Link with smarthome IoT security system
 Concept
 One cloudmind entity that is a human plus IoT
objects, functioning together
76

4 Jul 2018
Adoption Risks
 Privacy, security, etc.
 Graduated adoption paths
 Credit-assignation
 Idea-tracking
 Identity loss
 Identity multiplicity
77

4 Jul 2018
Fear of Personal Identity loss
 Identity multiplicity
 Already multiple online personas
 BCI cloudminds do not necessarily
preclude or curtail personal
identity, and some rather
accentuate and extend it
 One or more digital selves participate
in cloudminds on a limited basis
 ‘Classic meatspace brains’
 Different configurations of selves (for
example, a team of selves, what
Hanson calls a ‘self clan’ or an
‘em[ulation] clan’)
78
Source: Hanson, R. (2016). The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth. Oxford University Press.

4 Jul 2018
Fear of being Absorbed
A. Groupmind
 Loss of personal
identity
 Inability to exit
B. Addiction
 Virtual reality is
entrancing and
addictive
 Inability to ‘participate
in a meaningful life’ in
physical reality
79

4 Jul 2018
Video Game Addiction: mixed research
 Negative
 Susceptibility to addiction, player fatigue, etc.
 Positive
 Physical-world social interaction remains a priority
 Ultimately novelty preferred to pleasure, turn away from
pleasure-center stimulation out of boredom
 Gamers have more grey matter and better brain connectivity
 Conclusion
 Video games are not only for fun, entertainment, community,
and status-garnering, but also for brain development and
intelligence amplification: “brainjack our potential”
 BCI cloudmind design challenge: produce applications that
safely extend our being as humans while balancing risks
80
Source: References cited in Swan, M. The Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces: Cognitive Enhancementing your way into a
Cloudmind. Journal of Evolution and Technology. In review.

4 Jul 2018
Credit-Assignation and IP Tracking
 Blockchain administration of
Cloudminds
 Cryptographic ledgers unobtrusively
track and reward contributions (the
smart network’s accounting system)
 Privacy
 Security
 Credit-tracking
 Intellectual property licensing
81
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491

4 Jul 2018
Blockchain Line-item Tracking
 Like “Github (SVN, CVS) for brainstorming”
 Unobtrusively track and reward line-item contributions
 Deep-learning algorithms automatically transcribe BCI
thoughts, like creating a written transcript from Skype calls
or YouTube videos
 Ideas logged to blockchains with time date-stamped hashes
 Line-item contributions tracked in cloudminds
 Acknowledging and rewarding new ideas in a trustable
annuity stream, an open inconspicuous ledger that
facilitates idea generation
 Basic research re: genesis of ideas, innovation
82

4 Jul 2018
Responsible Technology Adoption
 Accommodate a wide range of adoption and
non-adoption
 Clear pathways to increased engagement
 Uncoerced and reversible adoption
 Responsible technology design principles
 Monitoring ecosystem with external referees
 Industry standards bodies (BCIs: IEEE 802.15 Wireless
Personal Area Networks (WPANs) working group)
 Security, anti-virus protection, mind-hacking
safeguards
 Privacy: transparency, opt-out, and monetization
selections regarding data collection and use
83

4 Jul 2018
BCI Cloudminds
Gradual Adoption Strategies
 Share unused brain processing cycles
 SETI@home for your brain
 Backup, archival, storage
 Life-logging, memory-logging
 Digital self as opposed to original self
 Permissioning limited access to certain domains
of the brain and cognitive activity
 Demarcating structural borders
 Personal connectome files limit cortical access
 Limited time blocks (sleep cycles) for mindstream access
 Full cloudmind participation: problem-solving,
creative-expression, idea-generation
84

4 Jul 2018
85
 Human-Machine Relations
 Artificial Intelligence-Intelligence Augmentation
 Problem
 Solutions
 Cloudminds
 Conclusion

4 Jul 2018
The future…
Image: http://www.sydmead.com

4 Jul 2018
But wait…Risks and Limitations
 Increasing dependence on
technology and lack of
 Risk mitigation strategies
 Responses and resources
 EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse)
 Large-scale network failure or disruption
 Natural or malicious electromagnetic
pulse attack (EMP)
 Hello Skynet
 Backlash due to an overly technologized
experience of reality; too much of reality
being controlled by technology
 Social isolation (increasing suicide rates)
Source: Swan, M. (2018). Transhuman Crypto Cloudminds.

4 Jul 2018
Conclusion
 Human-machine relations and the concept of
personal identity evolving over time
88
Near-term Medium-term Long-term
Future of Work Biomedical Advance Cloudmind

4 Jul 2018
Multi-species Society
 Safe models to support the development and
flourishing of each
89
Human Algorithm Machine

4 Jul 2018
Conclusion
Sources: Swan, M. Cognitive Applications of Cognitive Enhancement Technology. Cognitive Science 2015.
Hildt, Cognitive Enhancement, 2013; www.nickbostrom.com/cognitive.pdf
 Automation Economy
 Cognitive offload produces more time for
innovation, creativity, and enjoyment, and
starts redefining human identity
 Ability to work with learning, memory,
attention, and disease means new forms of
awareness about existence and reality
 BCI Cloudminds
 Possibility of Brain-Computer Interfaces with
continuous connection to the internet and
other minds in cloudmind formats

4 Jul 2018
What is Cognitive Enhancement?
91
Cognitive enhancement is the amplification or
extension of the core capacities of the mind
through improvement or augmentation of
information processing systems
Source: Bostrom, N. and Sandberg, A. (2009). Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics, Regulatory Challenges.
Sci Eng Ethics 15:311–341

4 Jul 2018
Implications
 One near-term challenge is codifying
human-machine relations and redefining
human identity in the context of the
Automation Economy
 Biomedical advance is leading to
improved understanding and
manipulation of cognitive processes
which may open up rigid
conceptualizations of personal identity
to pluralistic models with safeguards

4 Jul 2018
Implications
 One way to expand beyond the unitary
limitations of the mind is through
cloudmind collaborations that might
safely harness the thinking and
processing power of multiple human
and machine minds
 Risks include fear of absorption into
virtual reality, over-dependence on
technology, and social backlash

4 Jul 2018
Theory of Cognitive Enhancement
Independent Variables
Research Question:
How do technology and mindset influence cognitive enhancement?
Hypothesis: A sequential evolution of changes in technology and mindset
is necessary for cognitive enhancement
Cognitive
Enhancement
Dependent Variable
Tools and
Techniques
Technical
Conceptual
Shift
Social
Biomedical
Advance
Cloudmind
Personal
Identity
1
2
3
Near-term Long-term

4 Jul 2018
Thesis
95
Exceeding current cognitive limitations will require
both technological advance
and progression in mindset as to the notion of
personal identity and its confines,
for example to contemplate joining a collaborative
mind community since biomedical advance can
only do so much so fast

4 Jul 2018
The path ahead, our multi-species future…
96
Artificial Intelligence – Intelligence Augmentation

4 Jul 2018
Discussion Questions
98
1. Would you consider joining a Cloudmind (a cloud-
based collaboration of human and machine minds)?
 Premise: safely harness additional resources
2. What would you want to do in a cloudmind?
1. Solve problems? (math, science, political, social)
2. Pursue creativity? (the Yes-and Cloudmind)
3. Discuss or debate topics of interest?
4. Learn new things? Visit new places?
3. What safeguards would have to be in place?
1. Guaranteed exit and no loss of personal identity
2. Autonomy preserved (cloudmind is not groupmind)
?
??
Source: Swan, M. (2016). The Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces: Blockchaining Your Way into a Cloudmind. Journal of
Evolution and Technology. 26(2).

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