Cognitive & Physical Technologies: The Shift

For the first time in human history we are combining cognitive & physical technologies. This is a profound shift.

Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash

Sophia finally found the right sized socket wrench amidst her tools and leaned in to remove the panel. She whispered to her Augmented Reality (AR) glasses to move to the next step of the repair, overlaying the schematics and indicating the next step in the process. She was determined to fix the heat pump herself rather than call a technician. So far, so good and she was rather pleased with herself.

For the first time in human history, we are at the early stages of bringing together in interesting ways both cognitive and physical technologies in ways that will have profound implications for the human condition. These ways will impact how we perceive ourselves as humans, how we learn, work, shape our societies and cultures. It is combining these technologies

Cognitive and Physical Technologies

Our earliest cognitive technology is language, initially as sounds, like grunts and the use of physical movements and facial expressions combined with language. We still do this with over 90% of how we communicate with one another being non-verbal. It’s part of the reason we get “zoom fatigue” from all day video meetings.

--

--

Giles Crouch | Digital Anthropologist
Giles Crouch | Digital Anthropologist

Written by Giles Crouch | Digital Anthropologist

Digital Anthropologist | I'm in WIRED, Forbes, National Geographic etc. | Speaker | Writer | Cymru

Responses (1)