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- Title
The Internet as Cognitive Enhancement.
- Authors
Voinea, Cristina; Vică, Constantin; Mihailov, Emilian; Savulescu, Julian
- Abstract
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.
- Subjects
INTERNET; ARTIFICIAL intelligence; ACCESS to information; MISINFORMATION; INFORMATION overload; INTELLIGENT personal assistants
- Publication
Science & Engineering Ethics, 2020, Vol 26, Issue 4, p2345
- ISSN
1353-3452
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11948-020-00210-8