Improved Decision Making in an Environment of Extreme Uncertainty through the Application of Augmented Cognition

Abstract

The hypothesis of this paper is as follows: Uncertainty and inconsistency during complex endeavors can be reduced through the application of augmented cognition. An analysis of the genealogy of modern decision aides leads one to conclude that we should only be discussing the capability spectrum of intelligent software agents. We believe that this represents a limited view of the field of automated decision aides and assisted cognition. Instead of asking how smart the software agents can become, we would like to propose the following question: Can we make the human being smarter? Is it possible to improve cognitive functions inside the mind resulting in better selections of decision alternatives and interpretations of events? Is it possible to radically alter human training, development, and education to optimize the potential of every individual? The authors believe that the processes and tools being developed in the emerging field of augmented cognition can be exploited to provide a novel fusion of more capable human beings and exotic software agents. This fusion should result in breakthrough levels of situational awareness and superior decision making in environments of extreme uncertainty.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA486753

Entities

People

  • Jack Lenahan
  • Mike Nash
  • Phil Charles

Organizations

  • Naval Information Warfare Systems Command

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cognition
  • Cognitive Workload
  • Command And Control
  • Computers
  • Education
  • Engineers
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Information Processing
  • Intelligent Agents
  • Intelligent Systems
  • Psychology
  • Self Organizing Systems
  • Situational Awareness
  • Software Agents
  • Systems Engineering
  • Training

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Systems Analysis and Design