How can Chinese traditional concepts of mind and consciousness help us to construct a desirable and sustainable future of A.I. and the digital society? Chinese concepts I explore include: the dao, wu-wei, yin-yang, harmony, and balance. My main argument is that the current digital society is disconnecting us from the body, community and nature, and that Chinese traditional philosophical concepts can play a role in the correction of these problems, if aligned with modern science and technology. This is a presentation which I gave as a visiting research fellow for the Communication and Heritage Research Group, University Research Centre for Culture, Communication and Society, Xian Jiaotong Liverpool University on May 9, 2024. The official title of the talk is: Artificial Intelligence, Cognition & the Futures of the Traditional “Chinese” Mind.
00.35: Definitions of A.I. and the Chinese mind.
02:15: Aims and Context
03:00: Problems in the Digital Society
8:30: What is Critical Futures Studies?
13:45: What is the Chinese mind? Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism.
20:00: Important distinctions: Connectivity and
harmony. Outsourcing inspiration.
23:50: Insights and interventions from science and elsewhere.
24:30: The nature effect
29:30: The extended and non-local minds
33:30: The marriage of science and wisdom
38:10: Audience questions
What chance is there for this ideal society to emerge in China given the nature of modern society?
46:45. Have you implemented these practices in your teaching in China?
48.30. Power and Presence the book
48:00. How do we implement these ideas in China, without falling into western-centric thinking.
