In the Unit of Embodied Cognitive Science, the hypothesis being tested is that the interaction between agents and their environment is not just a product of cognition, but rather an essential element of cognition itself. The mind of an agent is deeply influenced and shaped by the external environment mediated by the agent’s embodiment and by social, cultural, and technological factors. Using methods that arise from the intersection of computer science and complex systems, the anticipated consequences of this hypothesis are being modeled and tested at various scales, from adaptive behavior to human thought. Applications to social cognition, addiction, human-computer interaction, and more are expected.
It’s quite interesting in a regular way, and seems to be related to Cybernetic Humanity.
Tom Froese, an associate professor leading the newly established Unit of Embodied Cognitive Science at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), challenges the computational theory of mind. His research team is studying the theory of embodied cognition, which suggests that the mind extends beyond the brain to include the body and environment.
According to Froese, in embodied cognition, interaction is key. Interaction is not just a product of the mind but a fundamental element of the mind that occurs between the brain, body, and other agents within the environment.
If cognition were limited to being solely brain-based, as opposed to being body-based, Froese argues that our lives filled with social interactions would be reduced to mere neural activities. In an extreme thought experiment, he suggests that all human experiences could be replicated by inputting information from a supercomputer into a brain placed in a tank.
For Froese, this notion is discomforting as he believes that real-life social interactions are crucial. He suggests that at this stage, no one has been able to experimentally prove how the mind functions. Therefore, it would be better to test a more convincing theory of embodied cognition in this neutral space of the mind.