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https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2265/preface.pdf
Methods and Problems of New Technology in
Cognitive Science?
Michał Klincewicz1[0000−0003−2354−197X]
Department of Cognitive Science, Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University,
Grodzka 52, Kraków, Poland
michal.klincewicz@uj.edu.pl
https://sites.google.com/site/michalklincewicz/
Abstract. This is an introductory text to a collection of selected essays
from the tenth annual Cracow Cognitive Science Conference, which was
held in Cracow, Poland, on the 12th and 13th of May, 2018. It consists
of short summaries of selected papers and some observations about the
event and its future.
Keywords: Affective computing · Artificial intelligence · Virtual reality
· Cognitive Science.
1 Introduction
The tenth annual Cracow Cognitive Science Conference (CCSC) focused around
two closely connected themes: (1) problems connected to the use of new tech-
nologies and (2) methods and studies in cognitive science that involve new tech-
nologies. Both themes attracted significant attention from a wide range of disci-
plines in recent years and have been the subject of interdisciplinary research. The
CCSC brought together researchers from human-computer interaction studies,
psychology, artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, ethics, and philosophy
from across Europe. The present volume is a collection of selected papers from
the conference, which are organized according to the two themes.
2 Problems
Nick Novelli’s “Psychopathic Killer Robots! A Pragmatic Approach to AI Ethics”
offers an analysis of the problem of moral standing for highly sophisticated ar-
tificial intelligence embodied in robots, which is grounded in the robot’s having
?
Acknowledgment and special thanks have to be extended to Agnieszka Gębuś, Kinga
Ciupińska, Dominika Drążyk, Paweł Ciślik, Joanna Krawczyk, Magdalena Sabat,
and Katarzyna Dziadowicz for their tireless engagement in organizing all aspects of
the conference and for the vision that their brought to the project. Organizational
work associated with this publication was ably and professionally done by Agnieszka
Gębuś. The conference and work on this paper was partially financed by the Polish
National Science Centre (NCN) SONATA 9 Grant, PSP: K/PBD/000139 under
decision UMO-2015/17/D/HS1/01705.
2 Michał Klincewicz
phenomenal consciousness. Novelli then argues that a reasonable way forward in
attributing moral standing in such cases are observable differences in behavior
that are tied to differences in phenomenal consciousness.
Rafał Michalczak’s and Maciej Próchnicki’s “What Should We Know When
Interacting with Machines? A Critique of Daniel Dennett’s Idea” critically as-
sesses the proposal that it should be considered a crime to hide limits, short-
comings, and deceptions of an artificial intelligence system, including that it is
an artificial intelligence. They argue that this idea conflicts, at least in Poland,
with criminal and civil law.
Amelia La Torre’s “A more human side of a chatbot. Analysing anthropo-
morphism in conversations with a virtual agent depending on the level of elicited
agent knowledge” reports on an experiment with 32 participants, which examined
anthropomorphizing tendencies with respect to conversational artificial agents
(chatbots) using questionnaires. The paper offers a brief discussion of the back-
ground assumptions behind the study, but unfortunately does not report on any
of the findings.
Eryka Probierz’s and Anna Pindych’s “Problematic Internet Use in the Con-
text of Perceived Social Support and Self-esteem among Network Users Aged
15-26.” reports on an experiment with 543 participants, which aimed to exam-
ine the relationship between problematic internet use and self-esteem and social
support. Results indicate a positive correlation between low self-esteem and prob-
lematic internet use and a negative one between perceived social support and
problematic internet use.
Izabela Skoczeń’s and Aleksander Smywiński-Pohl’s “Investigating cross-linguistic
differences in the pragmatics of scalar terms” report on experiments that exam-
ine Polish speakers’ treatment of quantifier scope ambiguity. Results indicate a
significant difference in the way that speakers of Polish deal with it compared
to English speakers. The authors hypothesize that this difference may be due to
the Polish speakers’ bias in applying implicatures from full-knowledge contexts
to partial knowledge contexts.
3 Methods
Karolina Zmarzły’s “Virtual Reality as A Therapeutic Tool in Case of Psycholog-
ical Disorders” examines possible the ways in which virtual reality technology can
be used for treatment of psychological disorders, such as social phobia, autism,
eating disorders, and delusional beliefs. The author suggests future paths for
implementation of therapy regimens, but also research into the effectiveness of
virtual reality methods for treatment of psychological disorders.
Maartje Hendriks’ and Lisa Rombout’s “Towards Attention-based Design of
Mental Health Interventions in Virtual Reality” reports on a pilot study that
aimed to shed light on how biofeedback and image quality can differentially in-
fluence anxiety in a virtual reality environment. Results of the pilot indicate
several trends, such as: wide range in individual responses to attention manage-
ment and strong deep breathing patterns.
Methods and Problems of New Technology in Cognitive Science 3
Barbara Giżycka’s “Using Affective Loop as Auxilliary Design Tool for Video
Games” reviews how emotionally significant physiological information, as well as
human behavior, can be used as dimensions of interaction with video games and
how that interaction impacts design. Giżycka conducted several pilot studies with
heart-rate and galvanic skin response information used as biofeedback signals for
a video game. Preliminary results are promising.
Kamila Gajdka’s “Combination of Automated Language Analysis with Ma-
chine Learning and its Application to Early Diagnosing of Psychotic Disorders”
reviews recent methods of machine learning and automated language analysis
and proposes they can be used as a method of diagnosis of formal thought dis-
order in patients suffering from psychosis. The review includes an analysis of a
recent study that uses this combination of methods to predict psychosis with
an 83 percent accuracy rate and discriminates speech of recent onset psychotics
with a 72 percent success rate.
Konrad Zielinski’s, Ryszard Szamburski’s, and Ewa Machnacz’s “Artificial
voice perception in the context of novel voice restoration technique for laryngec-
tomees” proposes a new method of voice restoration for laryngentomees, which
takes advantage of electronic devices that can predict speech from selected face
and neck areas responsible for speech. The paper offers a review of the of tech-
nologies ready to be used to this effect and a discussion of the potential impact
of such voice restoration.
Mariana Rachel Dias da Silva’s, Marie Postma-Nilsenova’s, and Frouke Her-
mens’s “Wandering Mice, Wandering Minds: Using Computer Mouse Tracking
to Predict Mind Wandering” is a report of an experimental study on 183 partici-
pants, which used the SPAN task with random probes to investigate whether the
trajectory of mouse movements can be a predictor of task-unrelated thoughts.
It turned out that latency of button presses is an indicator of task-unrelated
thoughts.
4 Conclusions
The range of problems and methods on display in the selected papers, as well
as posters and papers not selected for publication, is large. One can nonetheless
discern a theme and a general direction of the work presented at the conference.
The theme is the intersection of cutting-edge technology and cognitive sciences
that aims to address real-life problems of individuals and societies. The inter-
action between the philosophy of mind, psychology, and data driven artificial
intelligence on display here suggests that future work on this theme is likely to
have positive impact on our lives.