#7 - From art to artificial life with Professor Takashi Ikegami

This episode of the podcast is a little different and is a co-production between Connectomics, and Stephen Estelle's Estelle Ingenuity podcast.  This time Stephen sits in the interviewer's chair and Mark is the interviewee. Stephen wanted to talk to Mark about a new paper of his that got some publicity online. The paper was called Do Digital Hugs Work? In this conversation, Stephen and Mark try to give some answers to that question. 

In episode #9 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark sits down with neuroscientist and philosopher Andrea Hiott. They talk about Andrea's work in providing a new metaphor for understanding cognition: cognition as navigation or way-making. As well as exploring what exactly is meant by the claim that cognition is way-making, they explore how this intersects with contemporary views within philosophy and science, what some of its practical implications are, and indeed, how Andrea made her way to these ideas in the first place. As you will hear, the path was long and winding, and no doubt played a substantial role in making Andrea the fascinating and lively conversation partner she is today. This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. Cover art is provided by Cian Brennan.  Links to some of Andrea's work https://www.andreahiott.net/ https://www.ecologicalorientation.com/2022/10/28/what-is-waymaking/

In episode #8 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark sits down with cognitive scientist and ethical AI researcher, Dr. Abeba Birhane. In this episode, they talk about Abeba's work auditing large image datasets, how they have discovered racial biases in these data sets,  and what the implications of that are. They also talk about Abeba's work in embodied cognitive science, and how the understanding of the person that emerges from that work challenges some of the assumptions underlying the value of the 'predictive' algorithms that are being used more and more in, for instance, crime prevention. Abeba provides a great overview of the state of AI research at the moment, some of the challenges it faces, and some of the things we can do to ensure we are developing technologies that serve everyone and not just certain privileged groups. This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. Cover art is provided by Cian Brennan. 

In episode #7 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with physicist, roboticist, cognitive scientist and artist, Prof Takashi Ikegami.  On the 17th and 18th of November, 2022, Takashi will exhibit the art-science installation Shell of Time, in Naha Cultural Center, Okinawa Japan, alongside the dancer and choreographer Un Yamada.  In this episode, they talk at length about this installation, and about the scientific and cultural context within which it was developed. They also talk about Takashi's background, about consciousness, about the contagion of mind, about consciousness machines and their role in our wider ecologies of life.   This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. Cover art is provided by Cian Brennan. 

In episode #6 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with philosopher of embodied cognitive science, Dr. Mog Stapleton.  Mog is presently a visiting researcher at OIST, and is working on understanding the relationship between cognition and the gut-brain axis.  In this episode, they talked about the role of aesthetics in the production of knowledge, the relationship between enaction and the empirical mind sciences, affectivity in cognition, enacting eduction and the value of ritual for transformation.  This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. Cover art is provided by Cian Brennan. 

In episode #5 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with sustainability researcher Roope Kaaronen.  Roope is a postdoc at the University of Helsinki, Finland.  In this episode, they talked about Roope's fortuitous introduction to ecological psychology and its value to his present work, his present work on strategic design interventions for large scale behaviour change/cultural evolution, the challenges and opportunities at the intersection between individual and collective change, nudging, and more.   This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University.

In episode #4 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with theoretical cognitive scientist Marek McGann.  Marek is a lecturer in the psychology department in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland. In this episode they talked about Marek existing at the intersection of enaction and ecological psychology, the concept of behaviour settings and his understanding of agency as a multiscale affair, emergentism as a framing for embodied cognitive science, and the craft of research and education.  This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University.

In episode #3 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with philosopher Laura Mojica.  At the time or recording Laura was also working in the Embodied Cognitive Science Unit at OIST. Laura works on the notion of normativity from an enactive standpoint, though she brings her experience working in analytic philosophy to bear on the topic. Laura is also very concerned with how enaction intersects with more cultural concerns and is interested in thinking about how enactive cognitive science can illuminate discussions about race, gender, intersectionality and so on.  This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univerity.

In episode #2 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with Dr. Fred Cummin, head of the Cognitive Science program at University College Dublin.  Fred is a linguist and the originator of the field of study that is joint speech: where two or more people say the same thing at the same time, such as within religious rituals, at sporting events, or at political protests. Fred is also an incredibly well studied individual in a range of disciplines and has a profoundly philosophical, idiosyncratic and insightful take on embodiment as a frame within the sciences.   This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univerity.

In episode #1 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with Dr. Tom Froese, head of the Embodied Cognitive Science Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.  The conversation touches on the central themes of embodied cognitive science and the enactive framework in particular, the methods of this approach, the mission of the unit at OIST, and some of the implications of developing or adopting such an understanding.  This episode was edited and produced by Shane Byrne Ph.D and in association with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. It is also available for listening in the OIST Podcast channel, along with other podcasts produced at OIST.