Extensions to our physical path... but what about mental power?

In the film "McLuhan's Wake" there is a passage saying that we created tools to enhance the way we touch (bow, cup, fork), we see (binoculars, glasses), we feel... These tools are extensions to our physical path... But if we think about the information society in the next ten years, there will not only be extensions to our physical path, but most probably also to our mental path.

In this essay I would like to refer to one of the driving forces I discussed earlier: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN).

Enhance

In the sense of enhancement, there is a loop. You shape things, and they shape you. Following the Narcissus myth, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have to be a success. They are an extension of ourselves in a material other than our human bodies. They extend our human mental power, our reasoning and learning, a trait that makes us -humans- different.

However, although a lot of research was already done, ANNs are not a big success nowadays. Seyle and Jonas claim that our extensions are attempts to maintain an equilibrium. So the stimulus for this invention should be the stress of acceleration of pace and increase of load. Indeed, with the snowball development of the internet and the catching waves of information, our human minds are being challenged increasingly. We are looking for extensions of our memory capacities through books, databases, CDs, etc. However, the snowball won't stop and we will look for additional tools that can help remove our limited mental resources. We will need to reinstall the equilibrium.

I am positive that ANNs will play a larger role in our information society. Increased technological power, simulation possibilities and attention will stimulate the next information revolution.

Obsolesce