Mind‐expanding machines: Artificial intelligence meets good old‐fashioned human thought

Abstract

envision legions of cunning robots running the world. Nor does he have high hopes for other much-touted AI prospects—among them, machines with the mental moxie to ponder their own existence and tiny computer-linked devices implanted in people's bodies. When Ford thinks of the future of artificial intelligence, two words come to his mind: cognitive prostheses. It's not a term that trips off the tongue. However, the concept behind the words inspires the work of the more than 50 scientists affiliated with the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) that Ford directs at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. In short, a cognitive prosthesis is a computational tool that amplifies or extends a person's thought and perception, much as eyeglasses are prostheses that improve vision. The difference, says Ford, is that a cognitive prosthesis magnifies strengths in human intellect rather than corrects presumed deficiencies in it. Cognitive prostheses, therefore, are more like binoculars than eyeglasses. Current IHMC projects include an airplane-cockpit display that shows critical