Is Consciousness Dissectible? Acute Slice Electrophysiology and a Bayesian Interpretation of Neural Correlates of Consciousness

The acute brain slicing method has become one of the foundations of modern neuroscience research. It is a laboratory technique in electrophysiology, which allows the study of electrical properties directly on a freshly prepared slice of animal brain tissue. During recording and/or stimulation, the acutely isolated brain slice is artificially kept “alive†up to many hours after the animals’ death. During an acute brain slice preparation, cortical and subcortical areas, which are suggested to correlate with conscious experience in humans, such as the claustrum and the thalamus, are dissected. In this paper, we investigate whether scientific statements can be made regarding the likelihood that some neural activities on the brain slice still support consciousness or degrees thereof.We exemplarily demonstrate how acute slices are produced and provide own electrophysiological data combined with a short literature review. Subsequently, we introduce the concept of Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) and apply conditional probabilities inferred from Bayes´ theorem, in order to draw from it an informed hypothesis on the likelihood that specific neural activities that sustain on the slice still correlate with some form of conscious experience. We propose that the probability that there is something that is it like to be, even on the acutely isolated brain slice, is similar to the likelihood that certain mental states correlate with certain brain activities in a healthy human subject, depending on the robustness of the underlying NCC

Mind the Seat Limit: On Capacity Management in Public Automated Shuttles

With ever growing automation of public transport automated shuttles offer an attractive alternative in areas where traffic regulations limit the deployment of large buses (city centres) or where low degrees of utilization renders the manual vehicles operation non-economical (last mile). The low capacities of shuttles in combination with the human factor (driver or conductor) makes capacity management a greater challenge for the user. Capacity management describes the allocation of available seats in a vehicle, e.g., when buying a ticket. In this paper, we present the results of series of studies where capacity management in automated shuttles has been tested via instruments that are currently available in public transit (audio announcements, in-shuttle displays, booking apps). We found that measures during and after boarding are not sufficient and that capacity management in automated shuttle requires a more detailed planning of pre-boarding stages; when boarding automated shuttles as opposed to non-automated public buses the flexibility is reduced. The paper concludes with discussion and recommendations for an optimal capacity management d

From a Mereotopological Point of View

In his Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant presents four antinomies. In his attempt to solve the first of these antinomies he examines and analyzes "thesis" and "antithesis" more thoroughly and employs the terms `part', `whole' and `boundary' in his argumentation for their validity. According to Kant, the whole problem surrounding the antinomy was caused by applying the concept of the world to nature and then using both terms interchangeably. While interesting, this solution is still not that much more than a well thought out idea if it does not also include an adequate formal explication. Since the aforementioned terms all have counterparts in modern mereotopology, a discipline that has seen significant progress in recent times, we will apply these concepts to Kant's analysis in an attempt to evaluate Kant's solution in light of modern analytic philosophy

Evaluating how interfaces influence the user interaction with fully autonomous vehicles

With increasing automation, occupants of fully autonomous vehicles are likely to be completely disengaged from the driving task. However, even with no driving involved, there are still activities that will require interfaces between the vehicle and passengers. This study evaluated different configurations of screens providing operational-related information to occupants for tracking the progress of journeys. Surveys and interviews were used to measure trust, usability, workload and experience after users were driven by an autonomous low speed pod. Results showed that participants want to monitor the state of the vehicle and see details about the ride, including a map of the route and related information. There was a preference for this information to be displayed via an onboard touchscreen device combined with an overhead letterbox display versus a smartphone-based interface. This paper provides recommendations for the design of devices with the potential to improve the user interaction with future autonomous vehicles

Driver De-Skilling and its Effect for Safety in Autonomous Driving

Semi-automated vehicles allow drivers to conduct other activities in the vehicle, such as reading a book. In case"br" of an emergency, the vehicle might induce a handover. This may happen in cases which are not manageable for"br" the automated system. It requires the driver to take over and resolve the situation in sub-optimal, complex, and"br" potentially dangerous situations. As a result of a lack of frequent driving, drivers may no longer possess the"br" skills to do so. This phenomenon is also known as one of the ironies of automation (Bainbridge, 1983). We target"br" the question how de-skilling will affect driving capabilities of drivers and how we can support the skill loss. In"br" an online study, we showed a dominance of initial skilling over de-skilling effects. In interviews with pilots, we"br" identified strategies against de-skilling in aviation for adaptation in the automotive domain. We show that initial"br" driver education, repeated transition training, increased situation awareness, constant mode awareness,"br" calibrating trust, and assigning responsibility are important factors for safe automated driving