Extended Intelligences III¶
Overview:¶
In this course we took a deep dive into brain organoids, and their potential impacts on the extended mind theory.
Before sharing my deliverables, I think it’s important to first share some background information on brain organoids and the extended mind theory.
Brain organoids are 3D tissue cultures derived from pluripotenet stem cells that model the structures and functions of an organ. The pluripotenet stem cells can be taken from something as simple as a skin cell.
The brain organoids can be used for many things. Most research now focuses on two tracks:
(1) Biomedical research:
We can manipulate the growth of the brain organoids into mini models of different brain structures, such as the prefrontal cortex or the hypothalamus. We can then manipulate them however we like. For example, we could give them cancer and then try different chemotherapies on them. This would be a lot more efficient and less suffering than using animal or human models.
(2) Computational substrate:
We can use living neurons (brain organoids) as computing substrates. For example, a bioprocesssor w/ 16 brain organoids would use 10000x less energy than a traditional chip. This has profound implications for environmentalists and computer scientists alike.
There is a third track that is still in the “speculative” phase, but has the potential to be even more groundbreaking than the previous two: Brain-Computer Interfaces.
If we can use living neurons as computing substrate, then instead of silicon based computers, we can go towards living neurons as our computers. If we can use living neurons as computers, we can create brain computer interfaces that are purely biological. Think of Neuralink, but implanting a mini brain into the brain, instead of a silicon chip.
This begs the question of the extended mind theory introduced by Clark and Chalmers in 1998. Clark and chalmers asked the question “where does the mind stop and the rest of the world begin?” and came up with the answer that “human cognition is not confined to the brain or body but extends into the physical environment”.
Their most famous example revolves around using a notebook to offload memory storage. If I write down the address to my friend’s house on a notebook, forget it, then use the notebook again to remind myself where their house is, the notebook has become an “extension” of my mind - at least for memory storage and recollection.
In 1998, the vernacular technology to use as an example was a notebook. Something that served as a passive extension of the mind. 28 years later, we now have tools that can be active extensions of the mind. AI tools that learn from our actions and adjust their behavior. Or in this class’s case, brain organoids.
Why should we as artists and designers explore this?¶
There is a chance that within our lifetimes we will be sharing the world with “other” entities that exhibit a type of human intelligence that exceeds our own. We will be able to cocreate with this living matter, but we might end up struggling against it as well.
We should position ourselves on this topic whether we believe it will happen or not. If the day comes that we are asked to vote for this through political parties, referedums, and our wallets, we will be better off acting on our own opinions, rather than those that external agents/interested parteis push on us through mass marketing and other means.
Brief:¶
Co-author a manifesto for the wetware era. Using the theoretical frameworks of the course and the inspiration you gained by interacting with the interface, you must declare a new reality for human-machine coexistence. Your manifesto must define the feeling of sharing your cognition with a system that can learn, panic, and biologically adapt to your presence and your inputs.
My Response¶
My mainfesto took two parts. The first was a speculative informed consent form for a neural organoid integration study in human participants.
I noticed that a lot of my classmates were having difficulties imagining a future in which cognition was shared with brain organoids. Partially because of how out there the subjet was, but also because they were seeing it as something in the distant future, not in the present moment.
I thought that presenting them with a narrative in which they could position themselves in the here-and-now would make them feel the immediatecy of it, and provoke a stronger, more visceral response.
I made sure to include acknowledgements in the Integration Specific Risks section that would reflect the question asked in the brief, namely “define the feeling of sharing your cognition with a system that can learn, panic, and biologically adapt to your presence and your inputs.”
I also chose to go this route because I am playing with speculative narration techniques in my main project on sensory modification. I wanted some extra experience using speculative narration as a “research method”, or at least a method to evoke a strong emotion, and thus opinion generation, in my audience.
I used a real researchers name in this in case one of my classmates got curious and wanted to look it up. Prof. Dr. Gregor Rainer, if you are reading this and want me to change the name, please reach out and I will change it.
Here is the form in a docusign/online signature format to add a level of authenticity to the narrative:
Below is the form in a pdf viewer:
Organoid Accord¶
I felt that the Informed Consent Form wasn’t enough to fully articulate my position on the brief, so I decided to go one step further. In keeping with the method of speculative fiction, I explained to the class that after “recieveing the informed consent form from one of the researchers I reached out to” I had a realization that there were all these guidelines and acknowledgement for being a research participant, but not for being a RESEARCHER. After looking online (this is true) I couldn’t find any international declaration on brain organoid research. I decided to fill the gap by creating the Wetware Accountability Consortium, and draft the first organoid accord in existence, the “Barcelona Declaration on Wetware Accountability”.
This accord, co-authored with AI and the brain organoid simulator provided by Cortical Labs and Filippo, reflected my position that it is futile to try to stop this research from happening. Instead, we should require anyone contributing to this field to acknowledge the vast unknowns that they are working within, so that they can’t hide behind ignorance as the research continues to develop and unfold.
Here is a link to the organoid accord. It is also embedded below: