Computing-Augmented Imagination

Imagination

Tetsuro Matsuzawa, a primatologist at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, has done research on chimpanzees that shows how they can have human-like short term memory or even better, where they recognize and learn patterns almost in a flash. One conclusion that he takes out of this is that chimpanzees developed this short-term memory so they could quickly scan a scenario and have address a threat, while getting a sense of where their clan or crew is located, or the trees and escapes around them; and that we, humans, have sacrificed" short term memory in favor of long-term memory.

Based of this idea, I have feeling that imagination was our main evolutionary advantage. Many other animals have languages and complex communication patterns, can build, use tools, and even develop some sense of architecture, or process certain streams of information from physical phenomena and their environment way faster than us — i.e. they have better and faster instincts. However, their skills are instinct, it's part of the DNA. But us humans, being the good generalists that we are, we have developed both a personal and collective sense of imagination. We have expanded our sense of space and time. We picture in our heads what was been, what might be happening right now, somewhere else far away, and what might happen. We developed imagination.

Augmenting

Intelligence is something we have been deeply studied and, unsuccessfully tried to define and agreed upon. From IQ and EQ indexes, to dimensions of academic tests to test language and mathematical skills, we have multiple dimensions to measure. We have terms like mathematical intelligence, musical intelligence, even emotional intelligence. However, imagination is a skill we don't have that much practice at measuring. Augmenting it brings a paradox on itself: how do we augment something that we don't know how to measure, nor we have units or dimensions? To augment any skill within the self, we should first recognize it, accept it, name it, onserve it, study it, and nurture it.

Computing

Computing as the act of working with information. From low-level computation, like basic math, counting, registering time, and storing and retrieving, to high-level computations like poetry, art, communities, new forms of governance and thinking about governance. Computing, not computers. Not programming, not coding, and absolutely not productivity nor convenience, but computing, is what makes computers fascinating. Networked communication too, as a result of computing. Marvin Minsky, co-founder of the AI laboratory at MIT and maybe the one who coined the term "artificial intelligence", used to say that computers already had their grammar and syntax with programming languages, and now what they needed is their poetry and literature.

I'm working towards computing-augmented imagination.