Manuel, Cho, Sam

Let’s get down to earth again. Prosthetics generally replace a missing limb, but cognitive tools seem to do something different, right?

Limb or organ, but OK  😊                                                               

The categories do overlap though, you can definitely see some brain implants as cognitive tools

OK, examples? 😉

Deep Brain stimulation to improve memory in Alzheimer patients 

Indeed, and this also improves memory in non-impaired people, so can be considered an enhancement too

Right, so cognitive tools aren’t just handheld devices, but can also be prosthetics or implants

With all the tools and technologies we have nowadays, do we live in some kind of sci-fi future? 👾

Ha! 🤔 I’m sure some would see it as a dystopia! Everything controlled by computers we no longer understand …

That actually is a serious issue. Things have gotten incredibly complex and no single person understand everything anymore

Just think of surgery: most surgeries require a large team and a lot of infrastructure, not just a dude with a saw …

That’s right, same thing for computers. Remember the y2k panic? Year 2000 problem

People thought the millennium bug would cause the end of the world!

Both individual computers and especially computer networks have become hugely complex. Not just two guys in a garage…

Ok, so a lot more specialization and collaboration.

Sam mentioned brain prosthetics earlier: it won’t be long before we have brain prosthetics with AI

I’m quite sure that this would be considered an enhancement by most, and scary by many.

Right, it might not be literally rocket science, but it does bring together two of the most complex and advanced fields

Computers and the brain, neither of which we fully understand yet?

Well, we design the computers, but artificial neural networks are indeed hard to explain

Asking people to let an implant “do their thinking for them” requires a lot of trust

Wow, this has been great, thank you both so much for your input! 😊

Manuel, Cho, Sam

I’m not sure these count as prosthetics or enhancement, but we all use devices to improve ourselves

I use GPS, map, and navigation software to plan my route, but I could do it on my own

But for people with cognitive impairments devices like that become essential for day to day activities

I see what you mean: one person’s enhancement is another person’s cure, so to say

The same happens in medicine, where sensors and smart devices are use to speed recovery, say, in physiotherapy

but also to help athletes reach peak performance. Restoring and enhancing are on the same slippery slope

Can we compare cognitive tools to “prosthetics for the mind”?

That sounds a bit weird, but maybe? I mean, pencil and paper would qualify as cognitive tool …

If you put shoes in the same category as prosthetic legs, sure, but it stretches the usual meaning quite a bit

OK, maybe that goes too far, and indeed we all seem to use tools like that all the time. So we’re all enhanced?

Depends on what your baseline is. I’ve got a smartwatch, but my grandfather could tell the time and predict the weather just by looking at the sky

Indeed, replicating the same functionality but with different means, isn’t really enhancement

Right, so if we just keep doing the same things, but now with tools, it’s not really enhancement?

Think about this example: people used to have to memorize a lot of things, like phone numbers

Now we can just look them up. It is quicker, but not radically different

Right, we can make calls from the middle of nowhere, instead from a fixed phone, but that’s just improvements in infrastructure

I mean, we wouldn’t consider switching cars for horses an “enhancement” in the human body or functionality?

I guess not, but shouldn’t we then discuss overall progress too? Like at the level of humanity, aren’t we all enhanced in a sense?

That’s an interesting point … also from a medical point of view. Better hygiene, antibiotics, vaccines, give us incredible lifespans compared to cavemen

And better communication and transportation have allowed for very different types of societies. So out tools do make us better!

Better humans? Superior humans?

Ouch, that sounds wrong. Maybe better at being human?                 

Ok, fair enough, that sounds more like it

So as individuals and as humanity we have progressed through tool use and by further integration with our tools …

Manuel, Cho, Sam

There’s been a lot of discussion in the medical community about enhancement 

The same drug can be a treatment for one person and an enhancement for the next

a well-known example is Ritalin                                                               

I did hear about that indeed. So would you say this is also the case for prosthetics?

Absolutely! Just think about the controversy about Oscar Pistorius 

His competitors insisted that his prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage: an enhancement 😊

If I can chime in on this point, not a prosthetic, but there was a similar controversy about running shoes 😅

Running shoes? Well, in a sense we might consider shoes as some kind of prosthetic … 😅

Maybe, but thanks to these spring-loaded soles Eliud Kipchoge ran the first marathon under 2 hours

Oh yes, I remember that bit of news! It was quite a big deal… lots of assistive technology too 👍

It didn’t really count as an official record, but it did show what technology can do to improve performances                           

Even though it didn’t count as world record, it still counts for our article! 😊 I’d say this is enhancement too

I would say so too, but I also think we should distinguish between tools and prosthetics …

Good point! What do you think, Cho?

I’m not sure you can make a clean break between those two, there will always be grey area’s

Does it only count as a prosthetic if you cannot take it off? Between a crutch and an artificial hip there’s a lot of room for discussion

That’s right, same goes for cognitive tools, it’s a sliding scale.

Cognitive tools? 🤔

Yes: like pocket calculators, or basically any utility app on your smartphone …

I couldn’t get anything done without my digital to do lists and calendar! 😊

Basically, those enhance your memory: cognitive tools

I see what you mean, but that seems another category again! 😊