The Internet as cognitive enhancement
The Internet has been identified in human enhancement scholarship as a powerful cognitive enhancement technology. It offers instant access to almost any type of information, along with the ability to share that information with others. The aim of this paper is to critically assess the enhancement po...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2020
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| _version_ | 1797091772100247552 |
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| author | Voinea, C Vică, C Mihailov, E Savulescu, J |
| author_facet | Voinea, C Vică, C Mihailov, E Savulescu, J |
| author_sort | Voinea, C |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The Internet has been identified in human enhancement scholarship as a powerful cognitive enhancement technology. It offers instant access to almost any type of information, along with the ability to share that information with others. The aim of this paper is to critically assess the enhancement potential of the Internet. We argue that unconditional access to information does not lead to cognitive enhancement. The Internet is not a simple, uniform technology, either in its composition, or in its use. We will look into why the Internet as an informational resource currently fails to enhance cognition. We analyze some of the phenomena that emerge from vast, continual fluxes of information – information overload, misinformation and persuasive design – and show how they could negatively impact users’ cognition. Methods for mitigating these negative impacts are then advanced: individual empowerment, better collaborative systems for sorting and categorizing information, and the use of artificial intelligence assistants that could guide users through the informational space of today’s Internet. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:37:18Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:bcb934c9-927a-48d6-ae91-810e5c66af76 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:37:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:bcb934c9-927a-48d6-ae91-810e5c66af762022-03-27T05:26:28ZThe Internet as cognitive enhancementJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:bcb934c9-927a-48d6-ae91-810e5c66af76EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordSpringer2020Voinea, CVică, CMihailov, ESavulescu, JThe Internet has been identified in human enhancement scholarship as a powerful cognitive enhancement technology. It offers instant access to almost any type of information, along with the ability to share that information with others. The aim of this paper is to critically assess the enhancement potential of the Internet. We argue that unconditional access to information does not lead to cognitive enhancement. The Internet is not a simple, uniform technology, either in its composition, or in its use. We will look into why the Internet as an informational resource currently fails to enhance cognition. We analyze some of the phenomena that emerge from vast, continual fluxes of information – information overload, misinformation and persuasive design – and show how they could negatively impact users’ cognition. Methods for mitigating these negative impacts are then advanced: individual empowerment, better collaborative systems for sorting and categorizing information, and the use of artificial intelligence assistants that could guide users through the informational space of today’s Internet. |
| spellingShingle | Voinea, C Vică, C Mihailov, E Savulescu, J The Internet as cognitive enhancement |
| title | The Internet as cognitive enhancement |
| title_full | The Internet as cognitive enhancement |
| title_fullStr | The Internet as cognitive enhancement |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Internet as cognitive enhancement |
| title_short | The Internet as cognitive enhancement |
| title_sort | internet as cognitive enhancement |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT voineac theinternetascognitiveenhancement AT vicac theinternetascognitiveenhancement AT mihailove theinternetascognitiveenhancement AT savulescuj theinternetascognitiveenhancement AT voineac internetascognitiveenhancement AT vicac internetascognitiveenhancement AT mihailove internetascognitiveenhancement AT savulescuj internetascognitiveenhancement |