论延展认知技术及其风险

“延展认知技术”是指在认知活动中,帮助有机体对外部环境中的信息进行获取、选择、理解、记忆,并因此对有机体自身行为产生指导作用的那部分技术。它的基本特征包括:纠缠性、交互性、持续性与自治性。延展认知技术有着延展认知范围、增强认知能力和拓宽认知途径的价值,但从风险的视角而言,其所带来的各种相关问题亦不容忽视。从个体层面而言,延展认知技术引发了认知主体的“信息焦虑”,一定程度上加剧了认知主体的“认知偏差”,造成认知主体的认知能力的另外一种形式的“退化”。从群体或社会层面而言,它的普遍使用会加剧社会风险总量,会造成数据“孤岛”和认知“垄断”,产生群体的“极化”现象。学界应进一步探讨如何实现延展认知技术的风险最小化,更好地促进人类的认知实践。

On Extended-cognitive Technology and Its Risks

“Extended-cognitive technology”refers to the part of technology that helps organisms to acquire,select,understand,and remember information of the external environment in cognitive activities,and thus guides the behavior of the organism itself.Its basic characteristics include:entanglement,interactivity,persistence and autonomy.Extended-cognitive technology has the value of extending cognitive scope,enhancing cognitive ability and broadening cognitive pathways.However,from the perspective of risk,the various related problems cannot be ignored.At the individual level,extended-cognitive technology triggers the“information anxiety”of cognitive subjects,which in part exacerbates the“cognitive bias”of cognitive subjects,and causes another form of cognitive ability“Degradation”of cognitive subjects.From the group or social level,its widespread use will aggravate the total amount of social risks,which will result in data“island”and cognitive“monopoly”,leading to“polarization”of the group.The academic community should further explore how to minimize the risk of extended-cognitive technology and better promote human cognitive practice.