Cognitive Sciences: Tomorrow's Perspective

摘要

Cognitive science is a subject matter which is based on traditional methods in behavioral science with a focus on construct and theory development. Of late the focus in cognitive science has been changing with a change in operational definition of the construct of cognition that includes the components of neuroscience and computational science. From the perspective of behavioral science, this is an important development since many unanswered questions in cognitive science could be addressed, for example, how cognitive input in the brain is processed, why do we fail to process information under stress, Is it possible to bring autonomy in rudimentary human functions, can we develop decision support tool to reduce the burden of information overload, etc. The multidisciplinary nature of cognitive science today has helped bridge the gap between technology development and human skill development. Human cognitive threshold is thus being enhanced with the help of technology or being replaced with alternative / assistive technology. Efforts are also being made to reproduce the cognitive ability in man-made pre-programmed robot. To conduct such research, it is important to engage the disciplines of neuroscience, computer science and behavior science under the banner of cognitive science. The present talk will focus on cognitive science with an interdisciplinary perspective with an aim to propose some research programs that will help benefit developing technology to enhance, support, read or reproduce human capability.