Information intensity and cognitive design: capacity, performance, and meditation. Keeping the human in mind
Creators: name: Larrivee, Denis
name: Hains, Louise
name: Larrivee, John
Publisher: name: F1000Research
Year: 2015

description: Frederick Taylor’s introduction of technological thinking into the social setting of factory production spurred articulation of what was then called ‘the human factor’. “We are not mere machines, we are human beings” (Duncan, 1911). The ‘human factor’ remains a complex ethical issue in today’s information dense workplace, with epistemological and ontological issues revolving around the subject environment polarity, and whether the ‘human’ is less served by the environments’ imposition on the subject or by the merging of subject-environment via cognitive ‘enhancement’ and the elimination of the polarity altogether. The pervasiveness of information technology in the modern workplace, with seemingly unending data streams, has driven the consideration of ways in which information management may be improved (now&gt;1x1018bytes nationally). Limitations of human cognitive capacities to manage massive information loads, often in complex operational environments, have been related to performance deterioration, not to mention deleterious effects on psychological and physiological, e.g., cardiovascular, health (Oie and McDowell, 2015). In such information intense circumstances proposals to enhance performance adopt one of three strategies: 1) direct intervention via neuroengineering to overcome neural limitations, 2) training regimes that leverage neuroplastic brain features, or 3) algorithmic outsourcing for information processing. In the first, cognitive engineering proposals view neural limitations as capacitative/operational constructs. To improve assimilation efficiency upgrading efforts target the synthesis of human technology hybrids to expand information management, via invasive procedures such as neuromorphic implants or brain computer interfacing. Such proposals raise issues of ethical parity between humans and machines, with manipulation of the human cognitive apparatus in machine-like fashion, a contemporary and radical reworking of Frederick Taylor’s earlier protocols. Additionally, they introduce philosophical uncertainties with regard to notions of self, personal identity, and responsibility. In the second, invasive technologies are avoided and the brain’s intrinsic neuroplastic capacity utilized. These efforts, however, recreate similar circumstances, albeit at higher operational levels, to those they seek to avoid. Moreover, relational models of the perception of interoceptive-exteroceptive input suggest that aversive stimuli, i.e., information overload, activate negative salience networks leading to stress and related symptoms. In the third, proposals seeking to outsource information processing relinquish access to information content, but offer performance stability by operating within neural limitations. In such cases performance range may be extended by enhancing the brain’s focusing ability and reducing stress through meditation. We propose that more humane approaches to managing information intense environments should combine minimally invasive efforts that minimize cognitive overload, via the development of externally processed information technologies, with emphasis on improved focus and reduced stress through meditation.<br><br>