Week 5 - V.A.P.C. - "Making Sense" by Simon Penny

Simon Penny’s texts warn the reader that humans accommodate technology too much into cognition. Many people liken the brain as a symbol of intelligence and the single most important organ in the human body. This heightened importance is due to the fact that many think that the brain operates similarly to a computer. However, cognition should be seen as more of a sensual experience where every body part operates independently and in harmony, instead of the mind solely sending signals to various body parts to perform tasks (similar to how a computer is given various instructions to perform). Moreover, this task-based way of thinking and decision making cannot function in a world where emotion and irrationality dominate. With this in mind, would it better to simply see the computer as just a tool? If everything it does is just a series of assignments, then it can’t really “think” or “feel” for itself. An A.I. that responds to questions by saying “I’m happy” or “Here are some solutions to your problem” is really just performing a series of responses that it was programmed to do. In this context, any witty response feels like an illusion; the machine doesn’t actually realize what it’s saying. With this in  mind, it is important to remember that human beings are defined by more than just reason and logic; emotion, growth and unpredictability also shape who we are.