B3 Non-refereed article in a conference publication
Digital Technologies and Human Consciousness : A Futures Workshop for Exploring Potential Implications
Authors: Ojell-Järventausta, Terho; Belousov, Anatolii; Bujić, Mila; Macey, Joseph; Hamari, Juho
Conference name: MindTrek Conference
Publisher: ACM
Publication year: 2024
Book title : indtrek '24: Proceedings of the 27th International Academic Mindtrek Conference
First page : 320
Last page: 324
ISBN: 979-8-4007-1823-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3681716.3681742
Web address : http://doi.org/10.1145/3681716.3681742
Over the past decades, digital technologies have permeated many everyday tasks and practices, reshaping human behaviour and causing unintended consequences. The emergence of artificial intelligence, extended reality, brain-computer interfaces, and nanotechnology have increased the likelihood of a future in which the impact of digital technologies reaches an unprecedented degree by expanding human consciousness. As such, the societal implications of such developments require an urgent evaluation. In this workshop proposal, we suggest an approach based on the futures clinique method to identify drivers and obstacles of change and potential societal implications through different future scenarios of digitally induced altered states of consciousness (DIAL). The workshop’s contributions comprise novel future scenarios that will aid in identifying potential benefits of DIAL and strategies for mitigating risks. It will provide a platform for exploring the implications of these emerging technologies through a novel perspective (DIAL) that is not currently prominent in the discourse but must be considered to mitigate unintended consequences.