I remember watching the film about memory, and the one with the robots in the car, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the third video! My memory is unreliable; I do rely on technology to remember things – calendars / tasks. This week, I have been trialling a Livescribe Echo pen which has been recording meetings for me, word for word, but in a way that I can instantly access (remember) a particular part. Already I am missing the pen and my enhanced memory after having only used it for a few days. 
But in a few years time, we will be able to do so much more. Jason Sosa (2014, 7m50s) demonstrates that technology has now reached a point where our memories can be reconstructed, erased and/or implanted by artificial means; potentially useful in treatments for post traumatic stress, alzheimers or dementia. He also demonstrates images that have been reconstructed using MRI scans of brain activity – we can actually see what another person is experiencing / thinking. Imagine if we could record these on a memory stick? We would never have to take notes in a lecture / meeting again. We would have perfect recall.
This week has also introduced me to concepts new to me, transhumanism and posthumanism, and I am looking forward to examining these in more depth. I am particularly fascinated by the ethical dilemmas surrounding the introduction of new technologies and how they are integrated into our society.
Spooky happenings – just published this blog and checked in on Twitter to find that Google have patented an AR device using some very odd gender stereotypes (O’Kane, 2015).
O’Kane, S. (2015) See the beautiful, nightmarish patent illustrations for a Google-funded augmented reality device. Available from: http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/1/17/7559473/google-magic-leap-patents-drawings [Accessed 18 January 2015].
Sosa, J. (2014) The coming transhuman era. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ugo2KEV2XQ#t=478 [Accessed 16 January 2015].
Jin, I like the clean ‘feel’ / set-up of your page. I also like 3 small images as an easily readable standard for this purpose. I agree with you that the theme of memory is worth more exploration.
Supposedly, the more you use certain parts of the brain, the more they are ‘wired’ to respond and remember. For example, my local post office clerk knows everyone’s post box number just by associating with their face. Another example is using an abacus for maths. My mother-in-law can do amusing calculations with this mechanical device and does not need calculator. But, when we consider augmenting memory by relying on external technologies, at some point I think it becomes dangerous and dystopian. Who, if anyone, is really managing or regulating the associated ethical dilemmas that you mention?
Hi Jin
Like you, I find the potential for a computer to recreate human memory unsettling. I work in the dementia field and see the potential for AI and the internet of things to make a massive difference to people’s lives. I also see a lot of prejudicial assumptions that people with dementia can’t or won’t want to use computers. I wonder what it will be like when the ‘net generation’ reaches this point in the life course …