Lorentz Lecture "Do Smart Devices Make Us Less Smart?"

What is the long-term impact of technological advances on human cognitive abilities? Cultural narratives and recent scientific investigations have painted a mostly negative picture. However, the versatility and accessibility of digital technologies means that they shape the interplay between technology and human cognition in multiple ways. In our lecture, we highlight the need to attend to issues like temporary vs. long-term impact, cognitive vs. motivational influence, and how we think about cognition - as strictly internal processes or as the dynamic interplay between internal processes and external tools. We show implications of this for both research and society,  reinforcing the importance of user’s self-control and raising questions about what should be assessed in educational testing. (This work is a collaboration with Lorenzo Cecutti and Spike W.S. Lee.)

Anthony Chemero is Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Cincinnati, and a primary member of both the Center for Cognition, Action, and Perception and the Strange Tools Research Lab.  His research is both philosophical and empirical; typically, it tries to be both at the same time.  His research is focused on questions related to nonlinear dynamical modeling, ecological psychology, complex systems, phenomenology, and artificial life. He is the author of more than 100 articles and the books  Radical Embodied Cognitive Science (2009, MIT Press) and, with Stephan Käufer, Phenomenology (2015, Polity Press; second edition, 2021). He is currently writing a book tentatively titled Intertwinings: The embodied cognitive science of self and other (Columbia University Press).

Practical information
When: Sunday the 25th of June 2023 from 16.30 until 17.30 hrs. If you want to visit the museum we advise you to do so beforehand, the exhibit halls will close at 17.00 hrs.
Where: In the lecture hall of the museum
Language: English
Costs: Attending the lecture is free with a museum ticket (you can purchase a museum ticket at the desk, when you have a student card/Museumcard etc. it’s completely free of charge).
Register: You can register using the form below. We have received your registration only when you have received the automated confirmation email. Please check your spam-box also.