Cognitive Technology in the Knowledge Society | Электронный журнал

Cognitive Technology in the Knowledge Society

UDC 304.5; 004.81; 008.2

Vyacheslav I. Kudashov – Siberian Federal University, Institute of Humanities, Department of Philosophy, Head of the Department, Doctor of Philosophy, professor, Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

E-mail: vkudashov@mail.ru

82, Svododniy prospect, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 660041,

tel: +7(391)206-26-70.

Abstract

Background: A lot of spheres of modern society are determined by ‘knowledge’ resources, and this fact makes it more actual a problem of interaction between cognitive technologies and social technologies. So, we have to examine the abilities of all social subjects to generate knowledge, which is used for the changes and construction of social reality according to the personal needs of individuals and the needs of social groups.

Results: Even the most valuable ideas and technologies can be realized in non-adequate way if they are put into the context of entirely different knowledge without necessary modifications. When different strata of society are involved in various social projects, cognitive technologies intensify their influence, which leads to high competitiveness between businesses and states in the global world. The technocratic approach in social life understanding should be countervailed by humanitarian reflection and practice.

Research implications: ‘A society of knowledge’ being formed and global development tendencies being increased, the importance of cognitive aspects in such spheres of social activity as information search and processing, activity planning, knowledge regulating and creative thinking will be emphasized.

Conclusions: Cognitive technologies becomes an integral part of high tech together with nano-, bio-, info- and social technologies. When used without special cognitive investigations any social technology can make the situation worse in a paradox way despite the fact that it is directed at positive goals and all the rules of technological innovations are kept strictly.

Keywords: knowledge society, cognitive technologies, information, humanitarian reflection, technology use, competitiveness.

The role of search efforts to find the way out of the crisis increases in periods of transition and modernization of society. Usually this role is played by some social projects, which define the goals, objectives, strategies and techniques. The development of social projects and their corresponding technologies is the prerogative of the humanities, though their role in technology use of social space is not adequate for the needs of society. In the general sense, technology is not just a set of instruments and even not only a complex of knowledge of methods and facilities, but a well-organized system of knowledge and action in certain purposeful methodology.

If the essence of progress in science and technology is high technology, (‘high tech’), then social progress is determined by high social technologies. In modern ‘knowledge society’ the crucial role of ‘knowledge’ resources is always meant. Apart from other considerations, that sets the task of cognitive and social technologies interaction. Cognitive technologies are the system of methods and algorithms modeling and reinforcing the cognitive ability of people to solve practical problems: speech and image recognition, regularity identification in the database, complex systems designing, decision-making under the conditions information shortage, etc. The predicate ‘cognitive’ primarily refers to the attitude to knowledge (‘cognoscere’ in Latin means ‘to know’), or rather to the method of knowledge obtaining, storage and transmission. Thus, cognitive technologies are the system of methods which influence the ways of knowledge processing.

From the widespread point of view the subject-matter of cognitive technologies is considered to be inaccessible for measuring in the human being himself: the volume and content of consciousness, rate of perception and thought, the reason for subjective preferences and decisions made. The prospects of cognitive technologies are their focus on the development of intellectual abilities, imagination and associative thinking. Cognitive technologies are based on the study of consciousness, cognition, various features of the process of thinking and cognitive behavior of living and thinking beings both from neurobiological positions and with the help of humanitarian approaches. The development of cognitive technologies can enable to develop algorithms that will actually ‘animate’ artificial technological systems on the basis of studying brain functions and the mechanisms of consciousness and behavior.

If we accept the fact that knowledge becomes the main resource for modern society development, i.e., a factor which structures all spheres of social life, then it is necessary to consider the possibility for all social subjects to generate knowledge aimed at changing and constructing social reality according to the internal needs of individuals and social groups. We need better understanding of the role of knowledge itself, which has always played a significant part in the processes of communication. Nowadays knowledge is becoming one of the key factors for success or failure of created social projects, programs and technologies.

Even the most valuable social ideas and technologies can be inadequately implemented if they are placed in the context of an entirely different knowledge without some necessary corrections. Such inadequacy was apparently less dangerous in the industrial epoch, when the share of creative activity was much less. In the knowledge society the pace of progress is determined not only by creativity of individuals and elite strata, but by the opportunity for creative participation of social groups at large. The importance of understanding of cognitive technologies is enhanced with the increase of the social groups which are involved in the implementation of various social technologies. This understanding is eventually evident as the degree of competitiveness of individual businesses and states in the global world.

Social technologies in close interaction with converging nano-, bio-, info- and especially cognitive technologies have already determined life and the development of modern society in many ways. Famous Russian philosophers – David Dubrovsky and Vladislav Lektorsky – insist on the inclusion of social technology in the group which determines social progress of NBIC converging technologies. Professor Lektorsky, however, believes that ‘the inherent qualities of the human being, without which he is impossible, such as the desire for freedom, creativity, love, dialogical relations with others, care, etc., cannot be technologies in principle. If we try to influence them technologically, to manage them, we will destroy the human himself’ [1, p. 46]. Such ‘demonization’ of modern technology is not always justified, because technologies themselves are man-made forms of culture development and are inseparable from human activity. We should rather fear a technocratic approach in understanding of social life technologization. Humanitarian reflection and practice should become necessary antithesis to this technocratic approach.

The need for better understanding of the interdependence of science and technology, which forms a new phenomenon – ‘technoscience’, has already become apparent. Also we need to overcome gradually the trend of technological reductionism in understanding of NBIC technologies and declared subjectless of this technology synthesis. David Dubrovsky emphasizes that we have to add to the existing four NBIC converging technologies “the ‘fifth component’, i.e. social technologies (and socio-humanitarian knowledge on basis of which they are formed and evolve). Social and humanitarian knowledge and social technologies should become an integral part of this dynamic system and should serve as an essential, integral factor of its development “[2, p. 70].

Indeed, since 2001, when the idea of NBIC converging technologies emerged and began to be discussed, more than a decade has passed. During this period of time not only some significant changes in the structure of NBIC occurred, but some questions of social value of convergent evolution process, its subjects and forms of their institutionalization were raised. According to the opinion of many philosophers this situation makes it possible to consider not only the NBIC systems but the NBICS systems including social and humanitarian knowledge and social technologies. The first Russian center of converging nano-bio-info-cognitive science and technology was established in ‘Kurchatov Institute’. This center develops a special social and humanitarian unity, which should play an important role in the formation of ‘new interdisciplinary mentality.’

A lot of experts states that it is absolutely impossible to achieve the strategic objectives of ‘knowledge society’ because of the absence of adequate instruments. A radical improvement of the business climate, competition, the technologies of ‘e-government’, ‘e-education’, ‘e-health care’, the elimination of regional inequality in information resources are among these instruments. It should be noted that they are not material and financial, but intangible resources, expressed mainly by such concepts as ‘intellectual capital’, ‘human capital’, ‘social capital’, information, etc. They are mainly ‘knowledge’ resources which require special cognitive technologies.

The importance of the problems associated with cognitive aspects in the development and use of various social technologies inevitably will increase with the ‘knowledge society’ formation and the strong influence of global tendencies. Such problems should be considered from the viewpoint of social epistemology as a process of social organizing in the context of immediate cognitive and communicative acts at all levels and stages of social technologies implementation. In some spheres of social activities, e.g. search and information processing, activity planning, knowledge structuring, creative thinking, etc., specially developed computer instruments play a significant role. It can be expected that these instruments will complement more and more natural human abilities to work with information without excluding but developing them, as the capabilities of these computer agents, as well as contextual search systems and data analysis will be evolved.

This approach provides the understanding of the processes of new social reality formation as a mechanism for knowledge generation and new meanings formation supported by all subjects in the sphere of this or that social technology. Therefore cognitive technologies acquire fundamental characteristics and decisively determine the function and effect of social technologies. When used without special cognitive investigations any social technology can make the situation worse in a paradox way despite the fact that it is directed at positive goals and all the rules of technological innovations are kept strictly.

References

1. Lektorskiy V. A. Rationality, Social Technologies and Destiny of a Man [Ratsionalnost, sotsialnye tekhnologii i sudba cheloveka]. Epistemologiya i filosofiya nauki (Epistemology & Philosophy of Science), 2011, №3, pp. 35 – 48.

2. Dubrovskiy D. I. Subjective Reality, Brain, and Development of NBIC- Convergence: Epistemological Problems [Subektivnaya realnost, mozg i razvitie NBIK-konvergentsii: epistemologicheskie problemy]. Epistemologiya vchera i segodnya (Epistemology of yesterday and today), IF RAN, 2010, pp. 69 – 82.

Ссылка на статью:
Kudashov V. I. Cognitive Technology in the Knowledge Society // Философия и гуманитарные науки в информационном обществе. – 2013. – № 2. – С. 98–101. URL: http://fikio.ru/?p=663.