IA and AI

Licklider had the concept of computers for ‘intelligence amplification’ IA and McCarthy had an originating concept for computers with ‘artificial intelligence’. How do these two early concepts relate to how we might now think of computers for both enacted and extended cognition?

The early concepts of "intelligence augmentation" (IA) by J.C.R. Licklider and "artificial intelligence" (AI) by John McCarthy provide foundational ideas that relate to the current understanding of computers for enacted and extended cognition. 1. Intelligence Amplification (IA): Licklider's concept of IA focused on computers as tools to enhance human intelligence and cognitive capabilities. It emphasized the collaboration between humans and machines, with the goal of utilizing computers to amplify human cognitive processes and problem-solving abilities. IA aimed to augment human intelligence through interactive interfaces, information retrieval systems, and communication technologies. This aligns with the idea of enacted cognition, as IA emphasizes the active engagement between humans and computers in the co-creation of cognitive processes. 2. Artificial Intelligence (AI): McCarthy's concept of AI, on the other hand, revolved around creating machines or computer systems that exhibit intelligent behavior. AI aimed to develop computer programs capable of reasoning, learning, and problem-solving tasks traditionally associated with human intelligence. Although early approaches in AI focused on creating autonomous systems, the current understanding of AI recognizes the importance of human-machine collaboration and interaction. In the context of extended cognition, AI technologies can act as external cognitive tools that support and augment human cognitive processes. From the perspective of enacted and extended cognition, both IA and AI concepts are relevant. IA emphasizes the active engagement between humans and machines, which aligns with the idea of enacted cognition. It recognizes that cognition emerges from the ongoing interaction between agents and their environment, including computational tools. On the other hand, AI technologies can be seen as external resources that extend human cognitive processes beyond the individual mind, supporting and augmenting cognition through computational power, data processing, and intelligent algorithms. In summary, the early concepts of IA and AI laid the groundwork for understanding the role of computers in enacted and extended cognition. They emphasize the collaboration, interaction, and augmentation of human cognition through computer technology, aligning with the current understanding of cognition as an embodied, extended, and enacted process.

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