The Cognitive Society

Abstract

The Cognitive Society is one in which ubiquitous, convergent cognitive technologies inform human decisions, actions, and health. In this chapter, we consider the impacts of current and future knowledge in human and machine cognition on a society in which the culture, including popular opinion as well as the educational curriculum, has significantly incorporated the findings and methods of cognitive science.We introduce the cognitive envelope, a framework allowing the mapping of spatiotemporal interactions of technology and cognition and examining the temporal and spatial scales over which we have cognitive access. Beginning with contemporary technology and projecting to the future, we draw the trajectories of three scenarios of speculation, in perceptual, cognitive, and social realms, which have the potential to reshape the cognitive envelope to twenty-first-century needs. As the convergent technology landscape unfolds, a rising science of cognition will provide decision-makers with the tools to choose the best outcomes for a Cognitive Society that would promote competitiveness, health, and security to individuals and nations.

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