How Digital Technology Shapes Us

Course Overview

Explore how AI, social media, gaming, and digital tools transform human cognition, relationships, and society with neuroscientist Professor Indre Viskontas. This 24-lecture course examines technology’s neurological impacts while offering strategies for healthy digital engagement.

Video Lessons

Cognitive Impacts

1. How Experience Alters the Brain (25 min)
   Neuroplasticity and technology’s influence on brain wiring
2. Are New Media Shortening Attention Spans? (27 min)
   The myth of multitasking and value of deep work
3. Does the Internet Make Us Shallow Thinkers? (27 min)
   Neurological differences between digital and print reading
4. Outsourcing Our Memory (28 min)
   How instant access affects memory formation

Digital Behavior

5. Human vs Digital Content Curators (28 min)
   Algorithmic influence on media consumption
6. Virtual Realities and Our Sense of Self (28 min)
   VR’s psychological effects and ethical considerations
7. Is Privacy Dead in the Information Age? (25 min)
   The privacy paradox in digital transactions
8. The Emotional Effects of Social Media (24 min)
   How platforms trigger envy and social comparison

Developmental Concerns

7. Screen Time’s Impact on Kids (29 min)
   Balanced approach to children’s digital exposure
8. Video Games and Violence (28 min)
   Research on gaming’s cognitive and behavioral effects
9. Is Digital Technology Ruining Sleep? (27 min)
   Blue light exposure and sleep quality research

Digital Health

10. How “Dr. Google” Is Changing Medicine (23 min)
    Patient empowerment vs misinformation risks
11. The Virtual Therapist (28 min)
    Effectiveness of digital mental health interventions
12. Technology and Addiction (28 min)
    Neurological parallels between digital and substance addictions

Societal Transformations

12. How Big Data Can Predict the Future (26 min)
    Opportunities and limitations of data analytics
13. How Online Dating Transforms Relationships (25 min)
    Neurological decision-making in digital matchmaking
14. Is the Internet Hurting Democracy? (28 min)
    Political polarization and neurological biases

Creative Frontiers

18. The Arts in the Digital Era (27 min)
    Algorithmic curation and artistic discovery
19. How AI Can Enhance Creativity (27 min)
    Collaborative potential of human-AI partnerships

Future Technologies

20. Do We Trust Algorithms over Humans? (27 min)
    Machine learning vs human judgment
21. Could Blockchain Revolutionize Society? (22 min)
    Decentralized trust frameworks
22. Effects of Technological Metaphors on Science (28 min)
    How computing analogies limit brain research

Workforce Evolution

23. Robots and the Future of Work (26 min)
    Essential skills in an automated world
24. Redefining What It Means to Be Human (32 min)
    Philosophical implications of human-AI coexistence