AI & Ethics

The mind in your pocket: On the neuroethical implications of smartphones as extensions of our minds - Peter B. Reiner, University of British Columbia

AI & Society Seminar Series

Sponsored by
Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making and Action and the Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies

Tuesday February 19, 2019
4:00 PM
Room 307
Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies
6331 Crescent Road

The mind in your pocket: On the neuroethical implications of smartphones as extensions of our minds

Peter B. Reiner
Professor
Department of Psychiatry
University of British Columbia
peter.reiner@ubc.ca   @peterbart

Abstract:

It is hard to overstate the degree to which information technology has permeated modern life. For many, reliance on their devices begins when they awaken, continues throughout the day and ends only when they drift off to sleep. Over half of the adult population worldwide owns a smartphone, making them among the most widely adopted technologies on the planet. For many people, the smartphone has become an essential companion to their daily lives, a magic portal to the information superhighway that provides opportunities for communication, social interaction, and data about the world at large.  On the one hand, our devices extend the reach of our cognitive abilities, and in this way they are becoming bona fide extensions of our minds. At the same time, our obsession with these devices – people interact with their smartphones ~150 times per day – raises questions about exactly who is in control of this relationship. In this lecture, I will explore some of the neuroethical implications of smartphones as extensions of our minds, and suggest ways in which we might more skillfully navigate our relationship with our algorithmic companions as they become ever more intimately integrated in our lives.