Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Human, Machine, and Network Functional, Symbiotic Integration On Neural Systems (Human Fusions)

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH

Investigators

Abstract

The Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers competition was run as a pilot solicitation within the ERC program. Planning grants are not required as part of the full ERC competition, but intended to build capacity among teams to plan for convergent, center-scale engineering research. This project will develop the foundational plan of an Engineering Research Center (ERC) to form a unique, transformative, and transdisciplinary team that will create, define, understand, and teach the science, technology, ethics, regulatory framework, entrepreneurship methodologies, and societal impact of the rapidly evolving integration of humans and technology. Communication and technology revolutions, such as radio, television, and the internet, have resulted in profound societal changes. The human, however, has basically remained external to the system with technology serving only as a tool. We propose that a conceptual shift toward symbiotic integration of the human with technology will bring the next societal transformation leading to a more connected, global society with new operational models of work, anthropocentric technology, and human-human interaction. We envision a tech-plus, transdisciplinary team of scholars, entrepreneurs, ethicists, and members from partnering institutions (including companies) that will perform convergent research at a new frontier of human incorporation of technology into a sense of self, i.e. a symbiosis between humans and technology. The core is a shift from the current techno-centric approach, where human and technology are separate, to a human-centric technology development paradigm. We seek to shift the societal dialogue from that of a battle between humans and technology (such as artificial intelligence and robotics) to a more productive dialogue of merging the best of humans and technology for the mutual benefit of both. Symbiotic incorporation of technology requires new interfaces to the human that add multiple sensory connections beyond current audio and visual inputs. This symbiotic relationship will augment human capability with those of technology and networked systems. New, symbiotic technology will radically change the future of work, human learning, human-human interaction, human networks, human health, human capability, and society overall for a safer, more prosperous future. The overall goal is to refine the model sufficiently to be compelling for a sustained research and development effort in an ERC for merging Humans, Machines, and Networks through Functional, Symbiotic, Integration On Neural Systems or an ERC for Human Fusions. Prior significant research shows that the core need of incorporation of technology into a human's sense of self, requires 1) a sense of agency over technology and 2) multi-sensory synchrony with technology. Strictly, this project is a planning grant to develop the ERC structure and processes that will rationally evolve the relationship between humans and technology. Methods from the Science of Team Science (SciTS) will be employed to establish relationships between committed, energized stakeholders in this new, transdisciplinary effort in human-technology symbiosis and a strategic plan to grow and establish sustainable research capacity. The objectives of the project are to 1) assemble the expertise to define the transdisciplinary, tech-plus framework; 2) develop a process and the collaborative tools for the sustained, focused development and study of the new human-technology paradigm, and; 3) establish a central point of engagement for stakeholders and external communities. This project will foster a new dialogue regarding the evolution of the human-technology relationship. Tangible outcomes from the planning process will include social media networking platforms, a central collaboration and dissemination website, and surveys to gauge stakeholder commitment to and refinement of the symbiotic model of human-technology evolution. Successful realization of a symbiotic human-technology paradigm requires a transdisciplinary approach to address significant scientific, technical, ethical, and social challenges. The transdisciplinary model of the ERC for Human Fusions has a technical core addressing anthropocentric technology, multisensory human interfaces, and connection infrastructure. Expanding around this are disciplines to address ethical questions of symbiotic technology, regulatory frameworks to support the ethical principles, entrepreneurial models to introduce new technology, and sociology to understand how symbiotic technologies impact society. These are highly integrated such that each is integral to the development and understanding of the other. The potential ERC will provide leadership, intellectual resources, the establishment of world-class facilities for responsible and effective scientific discovery, technological innovation, and resources in the new symbiotic sciences for education, research and development and translation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.