Cognitive Resonance: Our minds are more than machines

A brief overview of a new venture to help people understand human cognition and artificial intelligence

What is Cognitive Resonance?

Cognitive Resonance is a “think and do” tank and consultancy dedicated to helping people understand human cognition, and how generative artificial intelligence works.

We want to influence how people think about generative AI systems, using the lens of cognitive science. Understanding this science will make AI more intelligible and less mysterious.

We also want to influence what people do with generative AI. We see AI as a useful tool, but one with predictable strengths and limitations. Long term, Cognitive Resonance will be successful if generative AI is no longer treated as an inexplicable “black box,” and is used in ways that are socially beneficial and in harmony with human cognition.

Why subscribe to this Substack?

This newsletter will offer ideas and insights into how humans think and learn, and use this lens to explore the inner workings of generative AI. Over the past several decades, we’ve gained a great deal of scientific insight into how our minds work. This “cognitive revolution” has in turn fueled recent advances in AI that we are currently grappling to understand. Our goal is to help people more confidently navigate the future that lies ahead.

Or, as one friend said after hearing about my plans, “you’re trying to explain AI to the Average Joe.”

What is the general perspective of Cognitive Resonance?

At the moment, there’s no shortage of organizations and individuals claiming that generative AI is going to improve every aspect of life as we know it. Sounds great. On the flip side, there are many who suggest AI will become fully sentient, turn on us, and bring about human extinction. Sounds bad.

We offer a different view, a “pragmatic perspective” that sits in between these extremes. We see generative AI as simply a tool – impressive in some respects, concerning in others, but ultimately not nearly as mystifying as it may first appear. We want people to think critically about this technology so they can decide for themselves whether and how to make use of it.

What sort of posts should I expect?

• Essays comparing and contrasting how humans think with how generative AI produces its output

• Short(ish) summaries of emerging research on the capabilities of generative AI

• Conversations with people thinking deeply (and pragmatically) about cognition and artificial intelligence

• The occasional snarky piece calling out some of the more egregious overhype surrounding AI

What experience do you have in this space?

I have spent the bulk of my career trying to spread ideas from cognitive science into broader society. I previously founded and led a national education nonprofit organization dedicated to improving classroom teaching through use of this science. Through that work, I developed relationships with some of the world’s leading cognitive scientists, and I have spent much of the past decade thinking about how principles of cognitive science can be used to improve our daily lives.

The commercial deployment of ChatGPT in 2023 spurred me to try to better understand how these systems do what they do. I spent a year talking to some of the world’s leading researchers in this space, working to develop a basic “mental model” for how generative AI operates. This learning journey made me realize that cognitive science can help us get under the hood of these tools function, at a level most any reasonably educated adult can understand.

I aim to share some of what I’ve learned, and what I’m continuing to learn, through this newsletter. I hope you find it interesting and will subscribe and share with others!