How do we design systems that lead to generally wholesome states of mind? Having studied some of the psychological observations concerning social media, it is evident that cognitive interventions already feature prominently, generally in a way that fosters addiction, which is an unwholesome state.

However, cognitive interventions can also be incorporated in the design process so as to foster positive states. Furthermore, there are well-established methods, particularly Harvard University’s Project Zero thinking routines that suggest how this might be implemented. This was the subject of my paper: Cultivating sīla Online: the use of Cognitive Interventions in Systems Design, which I presented at the Ninth annual conference of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues. A copy of the paper is available on the conference website, as well as on Academia. 

We may furthermore specify such systems mathematically using a formalism such as process algebra and then specify safety properties in a temporal logic, which we apply to the model for validation. Whereas in the last millennium, formal methods were considered too rarefied for general use, nowadays they have become much more mainstream spear-headed by Petri Nets and the Pi-Calculus.

These are only early intimations, but I’m quite sure this research would be worthwhile.

Ever since I was a child I have tried to explore mind in a subjective-objective manner, that is, in a way that feels right, helps me to really know what’s going on, not just having logical, rational consistency. So, I naturally became interested in meditation (or mental cultivation) quite early on whilst also studying formal methods in computer science. I have explored numerous avenues as a result, trying always to retain coherence of an overall picture. In some cases, I have not got very far.

Just a few glimpses on this page, with further reading in the respective sections.

Mind, Brain and Education

Advances in neuroscience, aided by ever-higher spec’ed imaging equipment, has led to ever-finer neural correlates being established between human behaviour and well-being and observable phenomena in the brain. In recent decades, a particular area of research has been emotional development, especially among children. It is an area that I first learnt about through the work of Antonio Damasio, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and colleagues at the University of Southern California, who observed in the context of online engagement that nobler instincts take time.

I then learnt about the International Mind, Brain and Education Society (IMBES) and was encouraged to submit a poster proposal for their 2018 annual conference, my first consideration of the use of cognitive interventions — in the form of thinking routines — in the design of systems. But whilst the selection panel found it interesting, they considered that it didn’t meet the conference remit. Nevertheless, I decided to continue the research and shortly after posted a couple of articles on my blog

• Blog post, 27 August 2018: Pause for Thought: The Use of Interventions in Social Networking Sites
• Blog post, 4 September 2018: Pause for Thought: The Use of Interventions in Social Networking Sites (Part 2)

There is a lot of talk in academic circles about interdisciplinary research, but based on my experiences at Oxford University, whilst there continue to be some wonderful discoveries across boundaries, it is more normal for activities to be specialist and compartmentalised, at the expense of being holistic.

In the case of mind and education, the assumptions about mind are objective/materialist. From this the research inevitably becomes heavily dependent on machinery and thereby prevents a vital broadening of inter-disciplinary dialogue to encompass other methods in cognitive science. There are indeed many approaches to study the mind, and their proper appraisal should lead to a fuller, more holistic understanding its nature.

Mapping Mental Processes

The Buddhist approach to studying mind is epitomised in Abhidhamma, an exceedingly detailed and systematic analysis of the processes in which our minds are caught up. The technical term is citta and it may be broken down into many kinds of cetasikas (thought moments). I believe it is useful to study Abhidhamma to create mind maps and thereby learn more about how processes become variously wholesome and unwholesome. It helps to establish the right basis on which to introduce cognitive interventions, but the study is not for beginners — a general understanding of basic teachings is a prerequisite.

Mind and Artificial Intelligence

How do humans think? And what about machines? We may approach this from an orientation of cultivating more discerning awareness, as intimated above. There are many useful applications of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the field of education and personalised learning. However, unrestrained development is likely to be disastrous and where it is used there needs to be transparency in the methods and processes.

We may also gain clues by studying historical figures who displayed extraordinary creativity, particularly in the field of mathematics. One such figure was Srinivasa Ramanujan, a mathematical genius, who displayed extraordinary intuition. I have spent some time exploring his approach by reference to recollections from contemporaries. He features prominently in my book, Buddhism and Computing: How to Flourish in the Age of Algorithms.

Introduction

Building the right relationships with the right people applies to any context, offline and online. However, the ability to rapidly make connections on the Internet means we need to be more vigilant to ensure that we remain true to this recommendation. Apart from this, the nature of relationships remains fundamentally the same. We argue that a person is an integrated whole; whether engaged in the physical world or online, there is the one life, albeit played out in multiple facets.

We may pretend to be someone else (as promoted in VR worlds such as Second Life and the metaverse), but these only add layers of maya (illusion) and according to Buddhist teachings, karma accumulates around the same stream of consciousness; after the virtual deed is done, the effects will be experienced by the person, in their constituents (khandhas). The key requirement then is to understand what deeds bring happiness and unhappiness. Do we really need VR?

Given the acceleration driven by socialising online, the creation of amenable networking systems is a difficult challenge and cannot be solved by facile means. We may aim for art, but won’t reach that until we’ve worked hard to find workable, if not the most elegant, solutions. That’s a technical challenge, but we can all work on the problem of happiness. Surely, then, a sensible candidate should be able to reflect closely the nature of human relationships pre-Internet, comprising kinship and non-kinship relationships, which have distinct contextual meaning and grow organically.

Fortunately, there is an architectural model that strongly suggests an architectural framework, one that is based on the Buddha’s teachings to a householder, which I explore on the Sigala research site.

Timeline

To indicate how I’ve reached my present position, I offer a timeline of my involvement in initiatives that relate to this theme.

Nov-Dec 1996

“The MiningCo” – taking back the Web

I was one of the first guides (Buddhism) for the MiningCo (later renamed about.com). This aimed to build a community around thousands of guides applying their expert knowledge to assist with the problem of identifying relevant sites. What I particularly appreciated was the support community within the company itself.

2004-2005

Reflective and Private Blogs

Blogging is normally considered a social affair, but the RAMBLE (Remote authoring of Mobile Blogs for Learning Environments), for which I was principal investigator, trialled private, reflective blogs. Undergraduates were encouraged to write about their learning experiences and share them selectively with tutors and peers. Social can be selective.

Summer 2007

Joined Facebook

I was lulled into opening an account by colleagues.

November 2007

On ‘Friends’ and other associations

Dissatisfied with Facebook’s architecture, I sought a design that would properly support the deepening of human friendship and found inspiration in the Buddha’s teachings, resulting in a post on the EDUCAUSE Connect blog.

December 2010

New Architectures for Sustainability

I consolidated some of my ideas in a paper I gave at the 3rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science in Thailand. At the heart of the new architectures is a separation of concerns, especially of different kinds of relationships (kinship and non-kinship) rather than lumping every connection into the ‘friend’ type.

2011 –

Sigala Project

Named after the householder who received the Buddha’s teachings (though with flexible pronunciation!), the project was started, initially as theoretical research.

September 2021

Cultivating Sīla Online: The Use of Cognitive Interventions in Systems Design

This substantial paper, which I gave at Oriel College, Oxford, brings together many elements that I have been exploring. It provides assurance that the software development can now proceed.