Colour Studies: A Broad Spectrum. Editors: Wendy Anderson, Carole P. Biggam, Carole A. Hough, Christian J. Kay., Dec 2014
The ability humans have of seeing colors is strongly influenced by three fundamental factors: bio... more The ability humans have of seeing colors is strongly influenced by three fundamental factors: biology, which constrains the visual system of our species; the environment, which provides our experience with the world; and language, in which colors acquire names. Recent studies on the Berinmo and Himba languages have challenged the mainstream view about the universalism of color terms. These cases can also be helpful in investigating the possible impact the environment can have, since the landscapes in which the two groups live are drastically different. We propose a computational model of visual and linguistic processing paths in the cortex, previously used for simulating the influence of Berinmo and Himba color terms, and extended for investigating the combined effects of language and environment.
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Papers by Alessio Plebe
to it, the way we live our daily lives is changing once again. Jobs are changing
as they are increasingly influenced by the ability to process digital information
and are increasingly dependent on automation and robotics. Our psychological
abilities are also becoming more powerful thanks to a number of new cognitive
prostheses, including mobile phones and social media. Thanks to achievements
in the field of autonomous driving, we can hope that traffic in our cities will one
day be a completely safe experience. These are just a few of the areas where
everyday life is changing at an accelerating pace due to the pressures of cognitive
science.
After the first turbulent decades, in which the initial leadership of computer
science was gradually disputed by linguistics, philosophy and psychology,
neuroscience prevailed in the end. Thus, to this day, it is the brain sciences
that have taken the lead role for cognitive science. From the Decade of the
Brain (1990–2000) to the major projects simulating brain function, such as the
Brain Activity Map Project and Brain Research through Advancing Innovative
Neurotechnologies (BRAIN), the scientific community felt it could finally
decipher the inside of the “black box” and thus simulate its functioning. The
prospects for rehabilitation, for cognitive enhancement, and for artificial
intelligence modelled on the neurocognitive architecture of the human brain
sounded very promising.
However, things did not turn out quite as expected. The neuroscience
discoveries were undoubtedly very significant, but did not quite live up to
expectations. In the meantime, artificial intelligence has experienced something
of a new renaissance. Ironically, this renaissance has not come about—as one
might have expected—through the implementation of human-like cognitive
architectures, but thanks to the mathematical sophistication that has enabled the
surprising results of Deep Learning techniques. The impressive development
of these techniques was initially driven by engineering purposes, but their
application to cognitive processes proved to be extremely productive. After a
period of stagnation that lasted a couple of decades, machines have again begun
to surpass the cognitive abilities of humans. Artificial intelligence is now back
to reclaim its role as the hegemonic discipline in the conflicting landscape of
contemporary cognitive science.
Where will this lead? This book attempts to provide an answer to this
question by summarising recent achievements from the various fields that make
up cognitive science, with a particular focus on the challenges of the artificial
mind. There are still many areas where there are more questions than answers,
such as concerns about killer robots, sexbots, and the ethical algorithms in
self-driving cars. Artificial intelligence promises to improve our capabilities
and contribute to a more prosperous and fairer society. To achieve these goals,
however, it is important to guess the trajectory the future of the artificial mind
will take. This is precisely what the following path is about.:
Neuroethics is a recent field of study with an increasingly widening scope. More than any other, such a discipline could act as a central aggregator for the new knowledge on human beings that is emerging from contemporary neuroscience and its very relevant ethical, social and legal implications.
This volume provides an updated overview of the theoretical perspectives and empirical research related to neuroethics. The eight chapters offer a cross-section of a lively debate that will surely serve as the focus of scientific, cultural, and political reflection in years to come.
Psychologists have set out to understand which aspects of human mind are involved in this behavior, its motivations and the circumstances favoring its enactment. Moreover, there is an ongoing debate among scientists about the merits or harm of anthropomorphism in the scientific study of animal behavior and in scientific discourse.
Despite the interest and the specificity of the topic most of the relevant studies are scattered across disciplines and have not built a systematic research framework. This observation has motivated the collection of articles presented here, under the unifying perspective of the cognitive underpinnings of anthropomorphism. Within this general umbrella, the authors included in this e-book have explored the issues mentioned above from different points of view. From their work it emerges that far from being the result of naive beliefs, the exercise of anthropomorphism involves a multiplicity of mental abilities including perception and imagination. They also show that the context and the interactive situation are crucial to understanding this phenomenon. Some authors analyze the relationship between anthropomorphization and theory of mind abilities both in typical and atypical populations. Finally, others contributions have identified possible benefits deriving from the natural attitude to anthropomorphize, as a design philosophy for robots and artifacts in general, or as a useful heuristic in the scientific study of animal behavior.