Theme of the Day Two - Tech Augmented Cognition

The first story is from Wired and focusses on the use of neuroscience techniques (fMRI, EEG, etc.) to help soldiers be more effective killers.

Since 2000, Darpa, the Pentagon's blue-sky research arm, has spearheaded a far-flung, nearly $70 million effort to build prototype cockpits, missile control stations and infantry trainers that can sense what's occupying their operators' attention, and adjust how they present information, accordingly. Similar technologies are being employed to help intelligence analysts find targets easier by tapping their unconscious reactions. It's all part of a broader Darpa effort to radically boost the performance of American troops.

The second use of technology is seemingly less scary (but I'll bet the military could find a way of making it scary).

A shoulder-mounted camera system that automatically tracks head movements and can recognise hand gestures has been developed by UK researchers. Eventually, they hope the system could identify a wearer's activity and offer assistance, for example by accessing a telephone directory when they reach for the phone.

And finally, go check out this video on the future of augmented cognition. I haven't watched it yet so you'll have to let me know how it is.

This short film takes place in 2030 in a command center that is tasked with monitoring cyberspace activities for anomalies that could threaten the global economy. The economy, which functions largely in cyberspace, is the link between countries and is extremely susceptible to instability. As might be expected, given the ever-increasing amount of data to be analyzed even in today's world, the workers in 2030 are inundated with information from all sources. They have so much information to contend with that they are literally unable to process it all unaided. Fortunately, AugCog technologies have matured by this point and are commonly integrated into information-rich domains, including the featured command center. The film takes viewers through a near incident that is resolved by one of the analysts in the command center and is designed to tell two sides of the AugCog story: the innumerable benefits of the application of AugCog technology and the explanation of how that technology works.