Research Discussions

Our objective is to find interesting research that explore the relationship of Humans and Technology. We then present this research and have a multidisciplinary idea generation session.

Reward and Punishment on Motor Adaptation

Recently our group (link below) has become interested in Augmenting Memory. I chose a paper that I had presented in journal club a while ago that explores the role of reward and punishment on motor adaptation. Afterwards we brainstorm ideas, while making a flow chart, on how this may be related to memory augmentation. By the end of the brainstorming session we come up with a fascinating and possibly scary idea.

Relaxed Discussion and Brainstorming on OpenAI and GPT

We are a small group of multidisciplinary people who are interested in exploring the relationship between Humanity and Technology. None of us are experts in this field and this video is not meant to provide factual information. Instead it is meant to provide an interesting and searching discussion among friends. In this video we give a quick preview of OpenAI and GPT which uses artificial intelligence to generate text among other things. We then explore a variety of topics such as the role of feedback, the question of where does 'meaning' reside, the perception of Reality, morality, animal sacrifices, internal monologues, the collective human consciousness and discerning patterns within it, and many more topics.

Beyond Sensory Substitution: An Exploratory Conversation with Tasha Raella

In this video, Tasha, who is blind, talks about her journey to find a way to emotionally connect to the visual world. In our exploratory conversation, we talk about: using technology for human augmentation, the limits of sensory substitution, my research in spatial disorientation, the vestibular ocular reflex, mapping sensory information, and galvanic vestibular stimulation. Tasha is open to collaborating with anyone who is interested.

Discussions on Dealing with Large Variability in One Sensory System by Using Cues from Another

In this exploratory discussion, we begin by having Tasha share her life journey which includes the desire to experience the world in a more immersive manner. Next, I provide an overview on two papers that are relevant to Tasha's journey, both of which explore the idea of using an additional sensory cue (such as sounds) to enhance performance when a different sensory system (such as vision) is limited and noisy. We finish by having a brainstorming session.

Sensory Augmentation through a vibrotactile belt that indicates North

In this video, we review a paper, "Learning New Sensorimotor Contingencies: Effects of Long-Term Use of Sensory Augmentation on the Brain and Conscious Perception" where participants wear a vibrotactile belt that informs them the location of North for 7 weeks. At the end, we do a brainstorming session.