# data[].attributes.headline
פרק שלישי - הדיאלוג המצמיח עם העצמי הדיגיטלי

# data[].attributes.subject
פרק שלישי - הדיאלוג המצמיח עם העצמי הדיגיטלי

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
פרק 3 - אחרי שירלי1 (1)

# data[].attributes.headline
הקדמה - לכתיבה המשותפת

# data[].attributes.subject
הקדמה - לכתיבה המשותפת

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
הקדמה לכתיבת הספר

# data[].attributes.headline
פרק רביעי - החיים ברשתות

# data[].attributes.subject
פרק רביעי - החיים ברשתות

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
פרק 4 - בפדלט

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט - הקדמה באנגלית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט - הקדמה באנגלית

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט 3 - באנגלית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט 3 - באנגלית

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט 3 - בעברית (פחות טוב)

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט 3 - בעברית (פחות טוב)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
העצמי הדיגיטלי: מראה פנימית לצמיחה אישית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this episode from "The Educational Revolution" on Spotify. קטע מציג תפיסה חדשנית של העצמי הדיגיטלי לא ככלי טכנולוגי גרידא, אלא כתאום דיגיטלי המהווה שותף במסע של צמיחה אישית. הוא מתאר דיאלוג מתמשך בין האדם לבין תאומו הדיגיטלי, המאפשר התבוננות פנימית והבנה עמוקה של הזהות.

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט 4 באנגלית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט 4 באנגלית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Living Network: Contribution, Identity, and Digital Twins

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this episode from "The Educational Revolution" on Spotify. the concept of a "networked life" where the traditional idea of work is replaced by a continuous flow of unique contribution facilitated by digital twins.

# data[].attributes.headline
בשביל מה לכתוב את הספר

# data[].attributes.subject
בשביל מה לכתוב את הספר

# data[].attributes.headline
פרק ראשון - בסיס 80 - השעון הפנימי של החיים

# data[].attributes.subject
פרק ראשון - בסיס 80 - השעון הפנימי של החיים

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
פרק ראשון 3 לפירסום

# data[].attributes.headline
פרק שני - מחיים בטור לחיים במקביל

# data[].attributes.subject
פרק שני - מחיים בטור לחיים במקביל

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
פרק  2- לפרסום

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט 1 - באנגלית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט 1 - באנגלית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Our Internal Clock Life Time - “base 80”

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאס 1 - בעברית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאס 1 - בעברית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
פרק 1 - בסיס 80 ומעבר לו...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this episode from "The Educational Revolution" on Spotify. קטע זה, הלקוח מפרק ראשון של ספר שנקרא "תורת היחסיות החברתית" שנכתב בימים אלה ע"י יעקב הכט וחברים, בוחן את הרעיון של "בסיס 80" - הנחה תרבותית ופסיכולוגית עמוקה שחיי אדם נמשכים בערך עד גיל 80, המשפיעה על תפיסת הזמן שלנו ועל חלוקת החיים לשלבים.

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט 2 באנגלית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט 2 באנגלית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
from living linearly (“in a line”) to living concurrently (“in parallel”)

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט  2 - בעברית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט  2 - בעברית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
מחיים בטור לחיים במקביל

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this episode from "The Educational Revolution" on Spotify. יעקב הכט דן בשינוי מהותי בקיום האנושי, המעבר מחיים ליניאריים ("בשורה") לחיים בו-זמניים ("במקביל"). שינוי זה מונע על ידי כמות המידע העצומה שאנו נתקלים בה, העולה על יכולתנו להתמקד בדבר אחד בכל פעם. הטקסט מציג את המושג "גירעון קשב קולקטיבי" ומרמז כי בתגובה, האבולוציה האנושית מייצרת פתרונות.

# data[].attributes.headline
טיוטת רשימת הפרקים

# data[].attributes.subject
טיוטת רשימת הפרקים

# data[].attributes.body
הרשימה תעודכן תוך כדי תנועה...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
רשימת הפרקים בספר

# data[].attributes.headline
Your Future Self with Personalized Generative AI

# data[].attributes.subject
Your Future Self with Personalized Generative AI

# data[].attributes.body
מיזם ניסויי שבו אדם משוחח עם גרסה עתידית‑דיגיטלית של עצמו; כולל מאמר IEEE 2024 על השפעת החוויה על רווחה נפשית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Your future self is NOT a prophecy: it is a narrative of a potential version of the future generated from a large-language model that has been personalized on your initial survey responses. The future self cannot predict specific details about your future life-rather, it aims to paint a vivid and realistic picture of what your future life could be like.
Why doesn't my future self seem like me?

The conversation with the future self is generated in real-time via a large language model that has been personalized based on a pre-intervention survey assessing user future goals and personal qualities. Therefore, it only reflects the data that you have put into the survey, and its responses are still subject to the training data it was originally trained on.
Can I chat with my future self more than once?

Yes, it will be anonymously used for research purposes only.

Yes, you can 🙂.

Pat Pataranutaporn, MIT

Kavin Winson, KBTG

Peggy Yin, Harvard University

Auttasak Lapapirojn, KBTG

Monchai Lertsutthiwong, KBTG

Hal Hershfield, UCLA

Pattie Maes, MIT

The Project is supported by KBTG

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Project Overview ‹ Future You: Explore Your Future Self with Personalized Generative AI - MIT Media Lab

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Say hello to FutureYou!*This project is oriented towards young people*Inspired by studies showing how increased "future self-continuity"-the degree of continui...

# data[].attributes.headline
Longevity and the New Map of Life with Laura Carstensen

# data[].attributes.subject
Longevity and the New Map of Life with Laura Carstensen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Longevity and the New Map of Life with Laura Carstensen

# data[].attributes.headline
Have a conversation with your future self

# data[].attributes.subject
Have a conversation with your future self

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Have a conversation with your future self

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
University of California Television (UCTV)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Identity in a Cyber World with Sherry Turkle - Conversations with History

# data[].attributes.headline
הכחשת המוות (ספר) – ארנסט בקר

# data[].attributes.subject
הכחשת המוות (ספר) – ארנסט בקר

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
תורמים למיזמי ויקימדיה

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
הכחשת המוות (ספר) – ויקיפדיה

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
מתוך ויקיפדיה, האנציקלופדיה החופשית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Terror management theory ( TMT) is both a social and evolutionary psychology theory originally proposed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski and codified in their book The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life (2015). It proposes that a basic psychological conflict results from having a self-preservation instinct while realizing that death is inevitable and to some extent unpredictable. This conflict produces terror, which is managed through a combination of escapism and cultural beliefs that act to counter biological reality with more significant and enduring forms of meaning and value.

The most obvious examples of cultural values that assuage death anxiety are those that purport to offer literal immortality (e.g. belief in the afterlife through religion). However, TMT also argues that other cultural values - including those that are seemingly unrelated to death - offer symbolic immortality. For example, values of national identity, posterity, cultural perspectives on sex, and human superiority over animals have been linked to calming death concerns. In many cases these values are thought to offer symbolic immortality, by either a) providing the sense that one is part of something greater that will ultimately outlive the individual (e.g. country, lineage, species), or b) making one's symbolic identity superior to biological nature (i.e. you are a personality, which makes you more than a glob of cells). Because cultural values influence what is meaningful, they are foundational for self-esteem. TMT describes self-esteem as being the personal, subjective measure of how well an individual is living up to their cultural values.

Terror management theory was developed by social psychologists Greenberg, Solomon, and Pyszczynski. However, the idea of TMT originated from anthropologist Ernest Becker's 1973 Pulitzer Prize-winning work of nonfiction The Denial of Death. Becker argues most human action is taken to ignore or avoid the inevitability of death. The terror of absolute annihilation creates such a profound - albeit subconscious - anxiety in people that they spend their lives attempting to make sense of it. On large scales, societies build symbols: Laws, religious meanings, cultures, and belief systems to explain the significance of life, define what makes certain characteristics, skills, and talents extraordinary, reward others whom they find exemplify certain attributes, and punish or kill others who do not adhere to their cultural worldview. Adherence to these created " symbols" aid in relieving stresses associated with the reality of mortality. On an individual level, self-esteem provides a buffer against death-related anxiety. The Denial of Death, however, has been criticized for its reductive depictions of mental health and humanity.

The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man.

Cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker asserted in his 1973 book The Denial of Death that humans, as intelligent animals, are able to grasp the inevitability of death. They therefore spend their lives building and believing in cultural elements that illustrate how to make themselves stand out as individuals and give their lives significance and meaning. Death creates an anxiety in humans; it strikes at unexpected and random moments, and its nature is essentially unknowable, causing people to spend most of their time and energy to explain, forestall, and avoid it.

Becker expounded upon the previous writings of Sigmund Freud, Søren Kierkegaard, Norman O. Brown, and Otto Rank. According to clinical psychiatrist Morton Levitt, Becker replaces the Freudian preoccupation with sexuality with the fear of death as the primary motivation in human behavior.

People desire to think of themselves as beings of value and worth with a feeling of permanence, a concept in psychology known as self-esteem. This feeling counters the cognitive dissonance created by an individual's realization that they may be no more important than any other living thing. Becker refers to high self-esteem as heroism:

the problem of heroics is the central one of human life, that it goes deeper into human nature than anything else because it is based on organismic narcissism and on the child's need for self-esteem as the condition for his life. Society itself is a codified hero system, which means that society everywhere is a living myth of the significance of human life, a defiant creation of meaning.

The rationale behind decisions regarding one's own health can be explored through a terror management model. A 2008 research article in Psychological Review proposes a three-part model for understanding how awareness of death can ironically subvert health-promoting behaviors by redirecting one's focus towards behaviors that build self-esteem instead:

Proposition 1 suggests that conscious thoughts about death can instigate health-oriented responses aimed at removing death-related thoughts from current focal attention. Proposition 2 suggests that the unconscious resonance of death-related cognition promotes self-oriented defenses directed toward maintaining, not one's health, but a sense of meaning and self-esteem. The last proposition suggests that confrontations with the physical body may undermine symbolic defenses and thus present a previously unrecognized barrier to health promotion activities.

Terror management theorists consider TMT to be compatible with the theory of evolution: Valid fears of dangerous things have an adaptive function that helped facilitate the survival of our ancestors' genes. However, generalized existential anxiety resulting from the clash between a desire for life and awareness of the inevitability of death is neither adaptive nor selected for. TMT views existential anxiety as an unfortunate byproduct of these two highly adaptive human proclivities rather than as an adaptation that the evolutionary process selected for its advantages. Just as human bipedalism confers advantages as well as disadvantages, death anxiety is an inevitable part of our intelligence and awareness of dangers.

Anxiety in response to the inevitability of death threatened to undermine adaptive functioning and therefore needed amelioration. TMT posits that humankind used the same intellectual capacities that gave rise to this problem to fashion cultural beliefs and values that provided protection against this potential anxiety. TMT considers these cultural beliefs (even unpleasant and frightening ones, such as ritual human sacrifice) when they manage potential death anxiety in a way that promotes beliefs and behaviors which facilitated the functioning and survival of the collective.

Hunter-gatherers used their emerging cognitive abilities to facilitate solving practical problems, such as basic needs for nutrition, mating, and tool-making. As these abilities evolved, an explicit awareness of death also emerged. But once this awareness materialized, the potential for terror that it created put pressure on emerging conceptions of reality. Any conceptual formation that was to be widely accepted by the group needed to provide a means of managing this terror.

Originally, the emergence of morality evolved to facilitate co-existence within groups. Together with language, morality served pragmatic functions that extended survival. The struggle to deny the finality of death co-opted and changed the function of these cultural inventions. For example, Neanderthals might have begun burying their dead as a means of avoiding unpleasant odors, disease-infested parasites, or dangerous scavengers. But during the Upper Paleolithic era, these pragmatic burial practices appear to have become imbued with layers of ritual performance and supernatural beliefs, suggested by the elaborate decoration of bodies with thousands of beads or other markers. Food and other necessities were also included within the burial chamber, indicating the potential for a belief system that included life after death. In many human cultures today, funerals are viewed primarily as cultural events, viewed through the lens of morality and language, with little thought given to the utilitarian origins of burying the dead.

Evolutionary history also indicates that "the costs of ignoring threats have outweighed the costs of ignoring opportunities for self-development." This reinforces the concept that abstract needs for individual and group self-esteem may continue to be selected for by evolution, even when they sometimes confer risks to physical health and well-being.

Self-esteem lies at the heart of TMT and is a fundamental aspect of its core paradigms. TMT fundamentally seeks to elucidate the causes and consequences of a need for self-esteem. Theoretically, it draws heavily from Ernest Becker's conceptions of culture and self-esteem. TMT not only attempts to explain the concept of self-esteem, it also tries to explain why we need self-esteem. One explanation is that self-esteem is used as a coping mechanism for anxiety. It helps people control their sense of terror and nullify the realization that humans are just animals trying to manage the world around them. According to TMT, self-esteem is a sense of personal value that is created by beliefs in the validity of one's cultural worldview, and the belief that one is living up to the cultural standards created by that worldview.

Critically, Hewstone et al. (2002) have questioned the causal direction between self-esteem and death anxiety, evaluating whether one's self-esteem comes from their desire to reduce their death anxiety, or if death anxiety arises from a lack of self-esteem. In other words, an individual's suppression of death anxiety may arise from their overall need to increase their self-esteem in a positive manner.

Research has demonstrated that self-esteem can play an important role in physical health. In some cases, people may be so concerned with their physical appearance and boosting their self-esteem that they ignore problems or concerns with their own physical health. Arndt et al. (2009) conducted three studies to examine how peer perceptions and social acceptance of smokers contributes to their quitting, as well as if, and why these people continue smoking for outside reasons, even when faced with thoughts of death and anti-smoking prompts. Tanning and exercising were also looked at in the researchers' studies. The studies found that people are influenced by the situations around them. Specifically, Arndt et al. (2009) found in terms of their self-esteem and health, that participants who saw someone exercising were more likely to increase their intentions to exercise. In addition, the researchers found in study two that how participants reacted to an anti-smoking commercial was affected by their motivation for smoking and the situation which they were in. For instance, people who smoked for extrinsic reasons and were previously prompted with death reminders were more likely to be compelled by the anti-smoking message.

An individual's level of self-consciousness can affect their views on life and death. To a point, increasing self-consciousness is adaptive in that it helps prevent awareness of danger. However, research has demonstrated that there may be diminishing returns from this phenomenon. Individuals with higher levels of self-consciousness sometimes have increased death cognition, and a more negative outlook on life, than those with reduced self-consciousness.

Conversely, self-esteem can work in the opposite manner. Research has confirmed that individuals with higher self-esteem, particularly in regard to their behavior, have a more positive attitude towards their life. Specifically, death cognition in the form of anti-smoking warnings weren't effective for smokers and in fact, increased their already positive attitudes towards the behavior. The reasons behind individuals' optimistic attitudes towards smoking after mortality was made salient, indicate that people use positivity as a buffer against anxiety. Continuing to hold certain beliefs even after they are shown to be flawed creates cognitive dissonance regarding current information and past behavior, and the way to alleviate this is to simply reject new information. Therefore, anxiety buffers such as self-esteem allow individuals to cope with their fears more easily. Death cognition may in fact cause negative reinforcement that leads people to further engage in dangerous behaviors (smoking in this instance) because accepting the new information would lead to a loss of self-esteem, increasing vulnerability and awareness of mortality.

The mortality salience hypothesis (MS) states that if indeed one's cultural worldview, or one's self-esteem, serves a death-denying function, then threatening these constructs should produce defenses aimed at restoring psychological equanimity (i.e., returning the individual to a state of feeling invulnerable). In the MS paradigm, these "threats" are simply experiential reminders of one's own death. This can, and has, taken many different forms in a variety of study paradigms (e.g., asking participants to write about their own death; conducting the experiment near funeral homes or cemeteries; having participants watch graphic depictions of death, etc.). Like the other TMT hypotheses, the literature supporting the MS hypothesis is vast and diverse. For a meta analysis of MS research, see Burke et al. (2010).

Experimentally, the MS hypothesis has been tested in close to 200 empirical articles. After participants in an experiment are asked to write about their own death (vs. a neutral, non-death control topic, such as dental pain), and then following a brief delay (distal, worldview/self-esteem defenses work the best after a delay; see Greenberg et al. (1994) for a discussion), the participants' defenses are measured. In one early TMT study assessing the MS hypothesis, Greenberg et al. (1990) had Christian participants evaluate other Christian and Jewish students that were similar demographically, but differed in their religious affiliation. After being reminded of their death (experimental MS induction), Christian participants evaluated fellow Christians more positively, and Jewish participants more negatively, relative to the control condition. Conversely, bolstering self-esteem in these scenarios leads to less worldview defense and derogation of dissimilar others.

Mortality salience has an influence on individuals and their decisions regarding their health. Cox et al. (2009) discuss mortality salience in terms of suntanning. Specifically, the researchers found that participants who were prompted with the idea that pale was more socially attractive along with mortality reminders, tended to lean towards decisions that resulted in more protective measures from the sun. The participants were placed in two different conditions; one group of participants were given an article relating to the fear of death, while the control group received an article unrelated to death, dealing with the fear of public speaking. Additionally, they gave one group an article pertaining to the message that "bronze is beautiful," one relating to the idea that "pale is pretty," and one neutral article that did not speak of tan or pale skin tones. Finally, after introducing a delay activity, the researchers gave the participants a five-item questionnaire asking them about their future sun-tanning behaviors. The study illustrated that when tan skin was associated with attractiveness, mortality salience positively affected people's intentions to suntan; however, when pale skin was associated with attractiveness people's intentions to tan decreased.

Studies have shown that mortality and self-esteem are important factors of the terror management theory. Jessop et al. (2008) study this relationship within four studies that all examine how people react when they are given information on risks, specifically, in terms of the mortality related to the risks of driving. More specifically, the researchers were exploring how participants acted in terms of self-esteem, and its impact on how mortality-related health-risk information would be received. Overall, Jessop et al. (2008) found that even when mortality is prominent, people who engage in certain behaviors to improve their self-esteem have a greater chance of continuing with these activities. Mortality and self-esteem are both factors that influence people's behaviors and decision-making regarding their health. Furthermore, individuals who are involved in behaviors and possess motivation to enhance their self-worth are less likely to be affected by the importance placed on health risks, in terms of mortality.

In the Hansen et al. (2010) experiment the researchers manipulated mortality salience. In the experiment, Hansen et al. (2010) examined smokers' attitudes towards the behavior of smoking. Actual warning labels were utilized to create mortality salience in this specific experiment. The researchers first gave participants a questionnaire to measure their smoking-based self-esteem. Following the questionnaire, participants were randomly assigned to two different conditions; the first were given anti-smoking warning labels about death and the second control group were exposed to anti-smoking warning labels not dealing with death. Before the participants' attitudes towards smoking were taken the researchers introduced an unrelated question to provide a delay. Further research has demonstrated that delays allow mortality salience to emerge because thoughts of death become non-conscious. Finally, participants were asked questions regarding their intended future smoking behavior. However, one weakness in their conduction was that the final questionnaire addressed opinions and behavioral questions, as opposed to the participants level of persuasion regarding the different anti-smoking warning labels.

Many people are more motivated by social pressures, rather than health risks. Specifically for younger people, mortality salience is stronger in eliciting changes of one's behavior when it brings awareness to the immediate loss of social status or position, rather than a loss, such as death that one can not imagine and feels far off. However, there are many different factors to take into consideration, such as how strongly an individual feels toward a decision, his or her level of self-esteem, and the situation around the individual. Particularly with people's smoking behaviors, self-esteem and mortality salience have different effects on individuals' decisions. In terms of the longevity of their smoking decisions, it has been seen that individuals' smoking habits are affected, in the short-term sense, when they are exposed to mortality salience that interrelates with their own self-esteem. Moreover, people who viewed social exclusion prompts were more likely to quit smoking in the long run than those who were simply shown health-effects of smoking. More specifically, it was demonstrated that when individuals had high levels of self-esteem they were more likely to quit smoking following the social pressure messages, rather than the health risk messages. In this specific instance, terror management, and specifically mortality salience is showing how people are more motivated by the social pressures and consequences in their environment, rather than consequences relating to their health. This is mostly seen in young adult smokers with higher smoking-based self-esteems who are not thinking of their future health and the less-immediate effects of smoking on their health.

Another paradigm that TMT researchers use to get at unconscious concerns about death is what is known as the death thought accessibility (DTA) hypothesis. Essentially, the DTA hypothesis states that if individuals are motivated to avoid cognitions about death, and they avoid these cognitions by espousing a worldview or by buffering their self-esteem, then when threatened, an individual should possess more death-related cognitions (e.g., thoughts about death, and death-related stimuli) than they would when not threatened.

The DTA hypothesis has its origins in work by Greenberg et al. (1994) as an extension of their earlier terror management hypotheses (i.e., the anxiety buffer hypothesis and the mortality salience hypothesis). The researchers reasoned that if, as indicated by Wegner's research on thought suppression (1994; 1997), thoughts that are purposely suppressed from conscious awareness are often brought back with ease, then following a delay death-thought cognitions should be more available to consciousness than (a) those who keep the death-thoughts in their consciousness the whole time, and (b) those who suppress the death-thoughts but are not provided a delay. That is precisely what they found. However, other psychologists have failed to replicate these findings.

In these initial studies (i.e., Greenberg et al. (2004); Arndt et al. (1997)), and in numerous subsequent DTA studies, the main measure of DTA is a word fragment task, whereby participants can complete word fragments in distinctly death-related ways (e.g., coff_ _ as coffin, not coffee) or in non death-related ways (e.g., sk_ _l as skill, not skull). If death-thoughts are indeed more available to consciousness, then it stands to reason that the word fragments should be completed in a way that is semantically related to death.

The introduction of this hypothesis has refined TMT, and led to new avenues of research that formerly could not be assessed due to the lack of an empirically validated way of measuring death-related cognitions. Also, the differentiation between proximal (conscious, near, and threat-focused) and distal (unconscious, distant, symbolic) defenses that have been derived from DTA studies have been extremely important in understanding how people deal with their terror.

It is important to note how the DTA paradigm subtly alters, and expands, TMT as a motivational theory. Instead of solely manipulating mortality and witnessing its effects (e.g., nationalism, increased prejudice, risky sexual behavior, etc.), the DTA paradigm allows a measure of the death-related cognitions that result from various affronts to the self. Examples include threats to self-esteem and to one's worldview; the DTA paradigm can therefore assess the role of death-thoughts in self-esteem and worldview defenses. Furthermore, the DTA hypothesis lends support to TMT in that it corroborates its central hypothesis that death is uniquely problematic for human beings, and that it is fundamentally different in its effects than meaning threats (i.e., Heine et al., 2006) and that is death itself, and not uncertainty and lack of control associated with death; Fritsche et al. (2008) explore this idea.

Since its inception, the DTA hypothesis had been rapidly gaining ground in TMT investigations, and as of 2009, has been employed in over 60 published papers, with a total of more than 90 empirical studies.

How people respond to their fears and anxiety of death is investigated in TMT. Moreover, Taubman-Ben-Ari and Noy (2010) examine the idea that a person's level of self-awareness and self-consciousness should be considered in relation to their responses to their anxiety and death cognitions. The more an individual is presented with their death or death cognitions in general, the more fear and anxiety one may have; therefore, to combat said anxiety one may implement anxiety buffers.

Due to a change in people's lifestyles, in the direction of more unhealthy behaviors, the leading causes of death now, being cancer and heart disease, most definitely are related to individuals' unhealthy behaviors (though the statement is over-generalising and certainly cannot be applied to every case). Age and death anxiety both are factors that should be considered in the terror management theory, in relation to health-promoting behaviors. Age undoubtedly plays some kind of role in people's health-promoting behaviors; however, an actual age related effect on death anxiety and health-promoting behaviors has yet to be seen. Although research has demonstrated that for young adults only, when they were prompted with death related scenarios, they yielded more health-promoting behaviors, compared to those participants in their sixties. In addition, death anxiety has been found to have an effect for young adults, on their behaviors of health promotion.

The terror management health model (TMHM) explores the role that death plays on one's health and behavior. Goldenberg and Arndt (2008) state that the TMHM proposes the idea that death, despite its threatening nature, is in fact instrumental and purposeful in the conditioning of one's behavior towards the direction of a longer life.

According to Goldenberg and Arndt (2008), certain health behaviors such as breast self-exams (BSEs) can consciously activate and facilitate people to think of death, especially their own death. While death can be instrumental for individuals, in some cases, when breast self-exams activate people's death thoughts an obstacle can present itself, in terms of health promotion, because of the experience of fear and threat. Abel and Kruger (2009) have suggested that the stress caused by increased awareness of mortality when celebrating one's birthday might explain the birthday effect, where mortality rates seem to spike around these days.

On the other hand, death and thoughts of death can serve as a way of empowering the self, not as threats. Researchers, Cooper et al. (2011) explored TMHM in terms of empowerment, specifically using BSEs under two conditions; when death thoughts were prompted, and when thoughts of death were non-conscious. According to TMHM, people's health decisions, when death thoughts are not conscious, should be based on their motivations to act appropriately, in terms of the self and identity. Cooper et al. (2011) found that when mortality and death thoughts were primed, women reported more empowerment feelings than those who were not prompted before performing a BSE.

Additionally, TMHM suggests that mortality awareness and self-esteem are important factors in individuals' decision making and behaviors relating to their health. TMHM explores how people will engage in behaviors, whether positive or negative, even with the heightened awareness of mortality, in the attempt to conform to society's expectations and improve their self-esteem. The TMHM is useful in understanding what motivates individuals regarding their health decisions and behaviors.

In terms of smoking behaviors and attitudes, the impact of warnings with death messages depends on:

1. The individuals' level of smoking-based self-esteem

2. The warnings' actual degree of death information

People with low self-esteem, but not high self-esteem, have more negative emotions when reminded of death. This is believed to be because these individuals lack the very defenses that TMT argues protect people from mortality concerns (e.g., solid worldviews). In contrast, positive mood states are not impacted by death thoughts for people of low or high self-esteem.

It has been suggested that culture provides meaning, organization, and a coherent world view that diminishes the psychological terror caused by the knowledge of eventual death. The terror management theory can help to explain why a leader's popularity can grow substantially during times of crisis. When a follower's mortality is made prominent they will tend to show a strong preference for iconic leaders. An example of this occurred when George W. Bush's approval rating jumped almost 50 percent following the September 11 attacks in the United States. As Forsyth (2009) posits, this tragedy made U.S. citizens aware of their mortality, and Bush provided an antidote to these existential concerns by promising to bring justice to the terrorist group responsible for the attacks.

Researchers Cohen et al. (2004), in their particular study on TMT, tested the preferences for different types of leaders, while reminding people of their mortality. Three different candidates were presented to participants. The three leaders were of three different types: task-oriented (emphasized setting goals, strategic planning, and structure), relationship-oriented (emphasized compassion, trust, and confidence in others), and charismatic. The participants were then placed in one of two conditions: mortality salient or control group. In the former condition the participants were asked to describe the emotions surrounding their own death, as well as the physical act of the death itself, whereas the control group were asked similar questions about an upcoming exam. The results of the study were that the charismatic leader was favored more, and the relationship-oriented leader was favored less, in the mortality-salient condition. Further research has shown that mortality salient individuals also prefer leaders who are members of the same group, as well as men rather than women (Hoyt et al. 2010). This has links to social role theory.

TMT posits that religion was created as a means for humans to cope with their own mortality. Supporting this, arguments in favor of life after death, and simply being religious, reduce the effects of mortality salience on worldview defense. Thoughts of death have also been found to increase religious beliefs. At an implicit, subconscious level, this is the case even for people who claim to be nonreligious.

Some researchers have argued that death anxiety may play a central role in numerous mental health conditions. To test whether death anxiety causes a particular mental illness, TMT researchers use a mortality salience experiment, and examine whether reminding participants of death leads to increased prevalence of behaviors associated with that mental illness. Such studies have shown that reminders of death lead to increases in compulsive handwashing in obsessive-compulsive disorder, avoidance in spider phobias and social anxiety, and anxious behaviors in other disorders, including panic disorder and health anxiety, suggesting the role of death anxiety in these conditions according to TMT researchers.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Some psychologists, especially evolutionary psychologists, have argued against terror management theory. One scholar commented that the field of psychology would be advanced by a study of paralyzed states caused by anxiety that would only be alleviated with the reworking of a person's mental state. These authors instead explain that human behavior is selected to urge people to avoid situations likely to lead to death. This suggests that mortality salience effects reflect adaptive responses to solve specific life threats rather than an unconscious attempt to avoid this realization.

Since findings on mortality salience and worldview defense were first published, other researchers have claimed that the effects may have been obtained due to reasons other than death itself, such as anxiety, fear, or other aversive stimuli such as pain. Other studies have found effects similar to those that MS results in - for example, thinking about difficult personal choices to be made, being made to respond to open-ended questions regarding uncertainty, thinking about being robbed, thinking about being socially isolated, and being told that one's life lacks meaning. While these cases exist, thoughts of death have since been compared to various aversive experimental controls, such as (but not limited to) thinking about: failure, writing a critical exam, public speaking with a considerable audience, being excluded, paralysis, dental pain, intense physical pain, etc.

With regards to the studies that found similar effects, TMT theorists have argued that in the previously mentioned studies where death was not the subject thought about, the subjects would quite easily be related to death in an individual's mind due to "linguistic or experiential connection with mortality" (p. 332). For example, being robbed invokes thoughts of violence and being unsafe in one's own home - many people have died trying to protect their property and family. A second possible explanation for these results involves the death-thought accessibility hypothesis: these threats somehow sabotage crucial anxiety-buffering aspects of an individual's worldview or self-esteem, which increases their DTA. For example, one study found increased DTA in response to thoughts of antagonistic relations with attachment figures.

In sum, TMT theorists believe that MMM cannot accurately claim to be an alternative to TMT because it does not seem to be able to explain the current breadth of TMT evidence. As an example, TMT theorists assert that mortality salience would not be a threat to meaning, since our eventual demise is a necessary condition of life. Therefore, it should not cause an individual to engage in general meaning maintenance. MMM also makes no attempt to explain why threatening meaning increases DTA.

TMT theorists agree that uncertainty can be disconcerting in some cases and it may even result in defense responses, but note that they believe the inescapability of death and the possibility of its finality regarding one's existence is most unsettling. They ask, "'Would death be any less frightening if you knew for certain that it would come next Tuesday at 5:15 p.m., and that your hopes for an afterlife were illusory?'....Would you rather be certain that death is the end, or live with the uncertainty that it might not be?" They also note that people actually seek out some types of uncertainty, and that being uncertain is not always very unpleasant. In contrast, there is substantial evidence that, all things being equal, uncertainty and the unknown represent fundamental fears and are only experienced as pleasant when there is sufficient contextual certainty. For example, a surprise involves uncertainty, but is only perceived as pleasant if there is sufficient certainty that the surprise will be pleasant. Consider a box received on a birthday from a trusted family member as compared to the box received at the end of the film " Seven" (which contains a severed head).

Though TMT theorists acknowledge that many responses to mortality salience involve greater approaches (zealousness) towards important worldviews, they also note examples of mortality salience which resulted in the opposite, which offensive defensiveness cannot account for: when negative features of a group to which participants belong were made salient, people actively distanced themselves from that group under mortality salience.

Evolutionary psychology, coalitional psychology, and TMT

Several critiques have been proposed against TMT from evolutionary psychologists - for reasons including that fear is an adaptive response in individuals that has come about as a result of natural selection; without these adaptations human beings would have never been able to avoid maladaptive situations. Thus, it is unlikely that people would have psychological ways of slowing-down anxiety. In response, TMT theorists argue that this critique is mixing up fear related to immediate danger with anxiety related to thoughts of threats that will or may occur eventually. TMT is talking about the protection that self-esteem and cultural worldviews offer against the threat of unavoidable death in the future. While anxiety may be adaptive in avoiding entering a dangerous place (e.g. because a predator may be waiting), this doesn't mean that anxiety must be adaptive in all cases. For a more comprehensive review of TMT and evolutionary psychology, see Landau et al., 2007. Similar evolutionary critiques have been raised by researchers exploring uncertainty and unknowns (see for reviews).

Coalitional psychology (CP) is presented as another alternative to TMT, which proposes that there is an evolutionary tendency to seek safety in groups (coalitions) as a reaction to adaptive threats. People already a part of coalitional groups seek to protect their membership by exhibiting their value to the group. TMT theorists answer by arguing that CP:

cannot account for the fact that virtually all cultures have a supernatural dimension;

does not explain why cultural worldview defense is symbolic, involving allegiance to both specific and general systems of abstract meaning unrelated to specific threats, rather than focused on the specific adaptive threats it supposedly evolved to deal with;

dismisses TMT's dual process account of the underlying processes that generate MS effects without providing an alternative of any kind or attempting to account for the data relevant to this aspect of the TMT analysis;

is not compellingly or uniquely supported by the experiments testing hypotheses derived from CP; and

cannot account for a host of empirical findings supporting hypotheses derived from TMT that could never be deduced from CP.[examples needed ]

Psychologist Yoel Inbar summarized the popularity of the theory:

I can not explain to people who were not around during this time - which I would say was roughly 2004 to 2008 - how much everything at the time was about terror management theory. You would go to SPSP and it seemed like half of the posters were about terror management theory. It was just everywhere. There is just an explosion of terror management theory stuff. And then it sort of receded. And now you barely see it. Which is also kind of weird. We were obsessed with this for a period of 3-5 years, then we moved on to other things.

1. ^ Solomon, S.; Pyszczynski, T.; Greenberg, J. (2015). The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. Random House.

2. ^ Arrowood, Robert B.; Pope, J. Brian (2014). "Terror management theory: A theoretical perspective on origination, maintenance, and research".

3. ^ Podgorski, Daniel (October 22, 2019). "The Denial of Life: A Critique of Pessimism, Pathologization, and Structuralism in Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death". The Gemsbok.

4. Levitt, Morton (July 1974). "Reviewed work(s): The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker", ^ Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 414, USA-USSR: Agenda for Communication, pp. 200-201.

5. Landau, M. J.; Solomon, S.; Pyszczynski, T.; Greenberg, J. (2007). "On the compatibility of terror management theory and perspectives on human evolution" (PDF). Evolutionary Psychology. 5 (3): 476-519. doi:10.1177/147470490700500303.

6. ^ Koole, Sander L.; van den Berg, Agnes E. (2004). "Paradise Lost and Reclaimed". In Greenberg, Jeff; Koole, Sander L.; Pyszczynski, Tom (eds.). Handbook Of Experimental Existential Psychology. New York: Guilford Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-59385-040-1.

7. ^ Becker, Ernest (1971). The birth and death of meaning (2nd ed.). New York: The Free Press.

8. Hansen, J.; Winzeler, S.; Topolinski, S. (2010). "When the death makes you smoke: A terror management perspective on the effectiveness of cigarette on-pack warnings". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 46 (1): 226-228. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.09.007.

9. ^ Routledge, C.; Ostafin, B.; Juhl, J.; Sedikides, C.; Cathey, C.; Liao, J. (2010). "The effects of self-esteem and mortality salience on well-being, growth motivation, and maladaptive behavior". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 99 (6): 897-916. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.465.8476. doi:10.1037/a0021431. PMID 21114350.

10. ^ Jong, Jonathan; Halberstadt, Jamin; Bluemke, Matthias (2012). "Foxhole atheism, revisited: The effects of mortality salience on explicit and implicit religious belief". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 48 (5): 983-989. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.03.005.

11. ^ Proulx, Travis (2003). Absurdity as the source of existential anxiety: a critique of terror management theory (Thesis). University of British Columbia. doi:10.14288/1.0076908.

12. ^ Leary, Mark R.; Lisa S. Schreindorfer (2002). "Unresolved Issues With Terror Management Theory" (PDF).

13. ^ Buss, David (1997). "Human Social Motivation in Evolutionary Perspective: Grounding Terror Management Theory". Psychological Inquiry. 8 (1): 22-26. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.387.7436. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0801_3.

14. ^ [1]Klein, Richard A.; Cook, Corey L.; Ebersole, Charles R.; Vitiello, Christine; Nosek, Brian A.; Ahn, Paul; Brady, Abbie J.; Chartier, Christopher R.; Christopherson, Cody D.; Clay, Samuel (2017-01-12), Many Labs 4: Replicating Mortality Salience with and without Original Author Involvement

15. ^ Chatard, Armand; Hirschberger, Gilad; Pyszczynski, Tom (2020-02-07), A Word of Caution about Many Labs 4: If You Fail to Follow Your Preregistered Plan, You May Fail to Find a Real Effect (unpublished), Center for Open Science, doi:10.31234/osf.io/ejubn, S2CID 236806340

16. ^ Tullett, Alexa; Inbar, Yoel (15 June 2022). "Episode 88: Many Many Labs". Two Psychologists Four Beers (Podcast). Publisher. Event occurs at 49:30 - 50:20.

Becker, Ernest (1973). The Denial of Death, The Free Press. ISBN 0-02-902380-7

Pyszczynski, Thomas; Solomon, Sheldon; Greenberg, Jeff (2003). In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror, American Psychological Association. ISBN 1-55798-954-0

Solomon, Sheldon, Greenberg, J. & Pyszczynski, T. (1991) "A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of esteem and cultural worldviews", in M. P. Zanna (Ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 24, Academic Press, pp. 93-159. ISBN 0-12-015224-X

Curtis, V.; Biran, A. (2001). "Dirt, disgust, and disease: Is hygiene in our genes?". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 44 (1): 17-31. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.324.760. doi:10.1353/pbm.2001.0001. PMID 11253302. S2CID 15675303.

Darwin, C. (1998) [1872]. The expression of the emotions in man and animals (3rd ed.). London: Harper Collins.

Florian, V.; Mikulincer, M. (1997). "Fear of death and the judgment of social transgressions: a multidimensional test of terror". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 73 (2): 369-80. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.2.369. ISSN 0022-3514. PMID 9248054.

Greenberg, J.; Pyszczynski, T.; Solomon, S.; Rosenblatt, A.; Veeder, M.; Kirkland, S. (1990). "Evidence for terror management theory. II: The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who threaten or bolster the cultural worldview" (Fee required). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 58 (2): 308-318. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.454.2378. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.2.308. ISSN 0022-3514. 13817, 35400000600727.0100 (INIST-CNRS).

Judis, J.B. (August 27, 2007). "Death grip: How political psychology explains Bush's ghastly success". New Republic.

Lazarus, R.S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506994-5.

Mikulincer, M.; Florian, V.; Hirschberger, G. (2003). "The existential function of close relationships: Introducing death into the science of love". Personality and Social Psychology Review. 7 (1): 20-40. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0701_2. PMID 12584055. S2CID 11600574.

Rosenblatt, A.; Greenberg, J.; Solomon, S.; Pyszczynski, T.; Lyon, D. (1989). "Evidence for terror management theory: I. The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who violate or uphold cultural values". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 57 (4): 681-90. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.457.5862. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.4.681. ISSN 0022-3514. PMID 2795438.

Simon, L.; Arndt, J.; Greenberg, J.; Pyszczynski, T.; Solomon, S. (1998). "Terror management and meaning: Evidence that the opportunity to defend the worldview in response to mortality salience increases the meaningfulness of life in the mildly depressed". Journal of Personality. 66 (3359-382): 359-382. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00016. hdl:10150/187250. PMID 9615422.

Greenberg, J.; Koole, S. L.; Pyszczynski, T. (2004). Handbook of experimental existential psychology. Guilford Press. ISBN 978-1-59385-040-1.

Cohen, Florette; Solomon, Sheldon; Maxfield, Molly; Pyszczynski, Tom; Greenberg, Jeff (2004). "Fatal Attraction". Psychological Science. SAGE Publications. 15 (12): 846-851. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00765.x. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 15563330. S2CID 16787928.

Van Tilburg, W. A. P.; Igou, E. R (2011). "On the meaningfulness of existence: When life salience boosts adherence to worldviews". European Journal of Social Psychology (Submitted manuscript). 41 (6): 740-750. doi:10.1002/ejsp.819. hdl:. S2CID 142993102.

Gutierrez, C. (2006). "Consumer attraction to luxury brand products: Social affiliation in terror management theory".

Discusses TMT at length

TMT and self-esteem

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Terror management theory ( TMT) is both a social and evolutionary psychology theory originally proposed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski and codified in their book The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life (2015).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Future Self-Continuity > How to feel more like future you

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Future Self-Continuity is the connection we feel to our future selves that influences almost every aspect of our decision-making

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Accelerating dynamics of collective attention - Nature Communications

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The impacts of technological development on social sphere lack strong empirical foundation. Here the authors presented quantitative analysis of the phenomenon of social acceleration across a range of digital datasets and found that interest appears in bursts that dissipate on decreasing timescales and occur with increasing frequency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An intelligent virtual assistant ( IVA) or intelligent personal assistant ( IPA) is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on commands or questions. Sometimes the term " chatbot" is used to refer to virtual assistants generally or specifically accessed by online chat. In some cases, online chat programs are exclusively for entertainment purposes. Some virtual assistants are able to interpret human speech and respond via synthesized voices. Users can ask their assistants questions, control home automation devices and media playback via voice, and manage other basic tasks such as email, to-do lists, and calendars with verbal (spoken?) commands. A similar concept, however with differences, lays under the dialogue systems.

As of 2017, the capabilities and usage of virtual assistants are expanding rapidly, with new products entering the market and a strong emphasis on both email and voice user interfaces. Apple and Google have large installed bases of users on smartphones. Microsoft has a large installed base of Windows-based personal computers, smartphones and smart speakers. Amazon has a large install base for smart speakers. Conversica has over 100 million engagements via its email and sms interface Intelligent Virtual Assistants for business.

Radio Rex was the first voice activated toy released in 1911. It was a dog that would come out of its house when its name is called.

In 1952 Bell Labs presented "Audrey", the Automatic Digit Recognition machine. It occupied a six- foot-high relay rack, consumed substantial power, had streams of cables and exhibited the myriad maintenance problems associated with complex vacuum-tube circuitry. It could recognize the fundamental units of speech, phonemes. It was limited to accurate recognition of digits spoken by designated talkers. It could therefore be used for voice dialing, but in most cases push-button dialing was cheaper and faster, rather than speaking the consecutive digits.

Another early tool which was enabled to perform digital speech recognition was the IBM Shoebox voice-activated calculator, presented to the general public during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair after its initial market launch in 1961. This early computer, developed almost 20 years before the introduction of the first IBM Personal Computer in 1981, was able to recognize 16 spoken words and the digits 0 to 9.

The first natural language processing computer program or the chatbot ELIZA was developed by MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum in the 1960s. It was created to "demonstrate that the communication between man and machine was superficial". ELIZA used pattern matching and substitution methodology into scripted responses to simulate conversation, which gave an illusion of understanding on the part of the program.

Weizenbaum's own secretary reportedly asked Weizenbaum to leave the room so that she and ELIZA could have a real conversation. Weizenbaum was surprised by this, later writing: "I had not realized ... that extremely short exposures to a relatively simple computer program could induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people.

This gave name to the ELIZA effect, the tendency to unconsciously assume computer behaviors are analogous to human behaviors; that is, anthropomorphisation, a phenomenon present in human interactions with Virtual Assistants.

The next milestone in the development of voice recognition technology was achieved in the 1970s at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with substantial support of the United States Department of Defense and its DARPA agency, funded five years of a Speech Understanding Research program, aiming to reach a minimum vocabulary of 1,000 words. Companies and academia including IBM, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Stanford Research Institute took part in the program.

The result was "Harpy", it mastered about 1000 words, the vocabulary of a three-year-old and it could understand sentences. It could process speech that followed pre-programmed vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar structures to determine which sequences of words made sense together, and thus reducing speech recognition errors.

In 1986 Tangora was an upgrade of the Shoebox, it was a voice recognizing typewriter. Named after the world's fastest typist at the time, it had a vocabulary of 20,000 words and used prediction to decide the most likely result based on what was said in the past. IBM's approach was based on a Hidden Markov model, which adds statistics to digital signal processing techniques. The method makes it possible to predict the most likely phonemes to follow a given phoneme. Still each speaker had to individually train the typewriter to recognize his or her voice, and pause between each word.

The 1990s digital speech recognition technology became a feature of the personal computer with IBM, Philips and Lemout & Hauspie fighting for customers. Much later the market launch of the first smartphone IBM Simon in 1994 laid the foundation for smart virtual assistants as we know them today.

In 1997 Dragon's Naturally Speaking software could recognize and transcribe natural human speech without pauses between each word into a document at a rate of 100 words per minute. A version of Naturally Speaking is still available for download and it is still used today, for instance, by many doctors in the US and the UK to document their medical records.

In 2001 Colloquis publicly launched SmarterChild, on platforms like AIM and MSN Messenger. While entirely text-based SmarterChild was able to play games, check the weather, look up facts, and converse with users to an extent.

The first modern digital virtual assistant installed on a smartphone was Siri, which was introduced as a feature of the iPhone 4S on 4 October 2011. Apple Inc. developed Siri following the 2010 acquisition of Siri Inc., a spin-off of SRI International, which is a research institute financed by DARPA and the United States Department of Defense. Its aim was to aid in tasks such as sending a text message, making phone calls, checking the weather or setting up an alarm. Over time, it has developed to provide restaurant recommendations, search the internet, and provide driving directions.

In November 2014, Amazon announced Alexa alongside the Echo.

In April 2017 Amazon released a service for building conversational interfaces for any type of virtual assistant or interface.

Virtual assistants work via:

Some virtual assistants are accessible via multiple methods, such as Google Assistant via chat on the Google Allo and Google Messages app and via voice on Google Home smart speakers.

Virtual assistants use natural language processing (NLP) to match user text or voice input to executable commands. Many continually learn using artificial intelligence techniques including machine learning. Some of these assistants like Google Assistant(which contains Google Lens) and Samsung Bixby also have the added ability to do image processing to recognize objects in the image to help the users get better results from the clicked images.

To activate a virtual assistant using the voice, a wake word might be used. This is a word or groups of words such as "Hey Siri", "OK Google" or "Hey Google", "Alexa", and "Hey Microsoft".

Virtual assistants may be integrated into many types of platforms or, like Amazon Alexa, across several of them:

Into devices like smart speakers such as Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod

In instant messaging apps on both smartphones and via the Web, e.g. Facebook's M (virtual assistant) on both Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps or via the Web

Built into a mobile operating system (OS), as are Apple's Siri on iOS devices and BlackBerry Assistant on BlackBerry 10 devices, or into a desktop OS such as Cortana on Microsoft Windows OS

Built into a smartphone independent of the OS, as is Bixby on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8.

Within instant messaging platforms, assistants from specific organizations, such as Aeromexico's Aerobot on Facebook Messenger or Wechat Secretary on WeChat

Within mobile apps from specific companies and other organizations, such as Dom from Domino's Pizza

Previous generations of virtual assistants often worked on websites, such as Alaska Airlines' Ask Jenn, or on interactive voice response (IVR) systems such as American Airlines' IVR by Nuance.

Virtual assistants can provide a wide variety of services. These include:

Conversational commerce is e-commerce via various means of messaging, including via voice assistants but also live chat on e-commerce Web sites, live chat on messaging apps such as WeChat, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp and chatbots on messaging apps or Web sites.

Virtual Assistant can work with customer support team of a business to provide 24x7 support to customers. It provides quick responses, which enhances a customer's experience.

Amazon enables Alexa "Skills" and Google "Actions", essentially apps that run on the assistant platforms.

Virtual assistants have a variety of privacy concerns associated with them. Features such as activation by voice pose a threat, as such features requires the device to always be listening. Modes of privacy such as the virtual security button have been proposed to create a multilayer authentication for virtual assistants.

Google Assistant does not store your data without your permission. To store the audio, you can go to Voice & Audio Activity (VAA) and turn on this feature. Your audio files are sent to cloud and used by Google to improve the performance of Google Assistant, but only if you have turned on the VAA feature.

Amazon's Virtual Assistant Alexa only listens to your conversation when you use its wake word (like Alexa, Amazon, Echo). It starts recording the conversation after the call of a wake word. It stops listening after 8 seconds of silence. It sends the recorded conversation to the cloud. You can delete your recording from the cloud by visiting 'Alexa Privacy' in 'Alexa'. You can stop Alexa from listening to your conversations using 'mute' feature of Alexa, after muting the device, it cannot listen to you even if you use the wake words (like Alexa).

Apple does not record your audios to improve Siri, it uses transcripts instead. It only sends data which is important for analysis, for instance, if you ask Siri to read your message it won't send the message to the cloud, the machine will directly read the message without server's interference. Users can opt-out anytime if they don't want Siri to send the transcripts on cloud.

Added value of the Virtual Assistants can come among others from the following :

1. It is convenient: there are some sectors where voice is the only way of possible communication, and more generally, it allows to free-up both hands and vision potentially for doing another activity in parallel, or helps also disabled people.

2. It is faster: Voice is more efficient than writing on a keyboard: we can speak up to 200 words per minute opposed to 60 in case of writing on a keyboard. It is also more natural thus requiring less effort (reading a text however can reach 700 words per minute).

Virtual Assistants save a lot of time by automation: they can take appointments, or read the news while the consumer does something else. It is also possible to ask the Virtual Assistant to schedule meetings, hence helping to organize time. The designers of new digital schedulers explained the ambition they had that these calendars schedule lives to make the consumer use his time more efficiently, through machine learning processes, and complete organization of work time and free time. As an example when the consumer expresses the desire of scheduling a break, the VA will schedule it at an optimal moment for this purpose (for example at a time of the week where he is less productive), with the additional long term objective of being able to schedule and organize the free time of the consumer, to assure him optimal work efficiency.

According to a recent study (2019), the two reasons for using Virtual Assistants for consumers are perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment. The first result of this study is that both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment have an equivalent very strong influence for the consumer willingness to use a Virtual Assistant.

The second result of this study is that :

1. Provided content quality has a very strong influence on perceived usefulness and a strong influence on perceived enjoyment.

2. Visual attractiveness has a very strong influence on perceived enjoyment.

3. Automation has a strong influence on perceived usefulness.

Virtual Assistants spur the filter bubble: As for social medias, Virtual Assistants's algorithms are trained to show pertinent data and discard others based on previous activities of the consumer: The pertinent data is the one which will interest or please the consumer. As a result, he becomes isolated from data that disagree with his viewpoints, effectively isolating him into his own intellectual bubble, and reinforcing his opinions. This phenomena was known to reinforce fake news and echo chambers.

Virtual Assistants are also sometimes criticized for being overrated. In particular, A. Casilli points out that the AI of Virtual Assistants are neither intelligent nor artificial for two reasons :

1. Not intelligent because all they do is being the assistant of the human, and only by doing tasks that a human could do easily, and in a very limited specter of actions: find, class, and present information, offers or documents. Also, Virtual Assistants are neither able to make decisions on their own nor to anticipate things.

2. And not artificial because they would be impossible without human labelization through micro working.

In 2019 Antonio A. Casilli, a French sociologist, criticized artificial intelligence and virtual assistants in particular in the following way:

At a first level the fact that the consumer provides free data for the training and improvement of the virtual assistant, often without knowing it, is ethically disturbing.

But at a second level, it might be even more ethically disturbing to know how these AIs are trained with this data.

This artificial intelligence is trained via neural networks, which require a huge amount of labelled data. However, this data needs to be labelled through a human process, which explains the rise of microwork in the last decade. That is, remotely using some people worldwide doing some repetitive and very simple tasks for a few cents, such as listening to Virtual Assistant speech data, and writing down what was said. Microwork has been criticized for the job insecurity it causes, and for the total lack of regulation: The average salary was 1,38 dollar/hour in 2010, and it provides neither healthcare nor retirement benefits, sick pay, minimum wage. Hence, Virtual Assistants and their designers are controversial for spurring job insecurity, and the AIs they propose are still human in the way that they would be impossible without the microwork of millions of human workers.

Privacy concerns are raised by the fact that voice commands are available to the providers of virtual assistants in unencrypted form, and can thus be shared with third parties and be processed in an unauthorized or unexpected manner. Additionally to the linguistic content of recorded speech, a user's manner of expression and voice characteristics can implicitly contain information about his or her biometric identity, personality traits, body shape, physical and mental health condition, sex, gender, moods and emotions, socioeconomic status and geographical origin.

Notable developer platforms for virtual assistants include:

In previous generations of text chat-based virtual assistants, the assistant was often represented by an avatar (a.k.a. interactive online character or automated character) - this was known as an embodied agent.

Digital experiences enabled by virtual assistants are considered to be among the major recent technological advances and most promising consumer trends. Experts claim that digital experiences will achieve a status-weight comparable to 'real' experiences, if not become more sought-after and prized. The trend is verified by a high number of frequent users and the substantial growth of worldwide user numbers of virtual digital assistants. In mid-2017, the number of frequent users of digital virtual assistants is estimated to be around 1 bn worldwide. In addition, it can be observed that virtual digital assistant technology is no longer restricted to smartphone applications, but present across many industry sectors (incl. automotive, telecommunications, retail, healthcare and education). In response to the significant R&D expenses of firms across all sectors and an increasing implementation of mobile devices, the market for speech recognition technology is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 34.9% globally over the period of 2016 to 2024 and thereby surpass a global market size of US$7.5 billion by 2024. According to an Ovum study, the "native digital assistant installed base" is projected to exceed the world's population by 2021, with 7.5 billion active voice AI-capable devices. According to Ovum, by that time "Google Assistant will dominate the voice AI-capable device market with 23.3% market share, followed by Samsung's Bixby (14.5%), Apple's Siri (13.1%), Amazon's Alexa (3.9%), and Microsoft's Cortana (2.3%)."

Taking into consideration the regional distribution of market leaders, North American companies (e.g. Nuance Communications, IBM, eGain) are expected to dominate the industry over the next years, due to the significant impact of BYOD ( Bring Your Own Device) and enterprise mobility business models. Furthermore, the increasing demand for smartphone-assisted platforms are expected to further boost the North American Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) industry growth. Despite its smaller size in comparison to the North American market, the intelligent virtual assistant industry from the Asia-Pacific region, with its main players located in India and China is predicted to grow at an annual growth rate of 40% (above global average) over the 2016-2024 period.

Virtual assistants should not be only seen as a gadget for individuals, as they could have a real economic utility for enterprises. As an example, a virtual assistant can take the role of an always available assistant with an encyclopedic knowledge. And which can organize meetings, check inventories, verify informations. Virtual Assistants are all the more important that their integration in small and middle-sized enterprises often consists in an easy first step through the more global adaptation and use of Internet of Things (IoT). Indeed IoT technologies are first perceived by small and medium-sized enterprises as technologies of critical importance, but too complicated, risky or costly to be used.

In May 2018, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, published a paper that showed audio commands undetectable for the human ear could be directly embedded into music or spoken text, thereby manipulating virtual assistants into performing certain actions without the user taking note of it. The researchers made small changes to audio files, which cancelled out the sound patterns that speech recognition systems are meant to detect. These were replaced with sounds that would be interpreted differently by the system and command it to dial phone numbers, open websites or even transfer money. The possibility of this has been known since 2016, and affects devices from Apple, Amazon and Google.

In addition to unintentional actions and voice recording, another security and privacy risk associated with intelligent virtual assistants is malicious voice commands: An attacker who impersonates a user and issues malicious voice commands to, for example, unlock a smart door to gain unauthorized entry to a home or garage or order items online without the user's knowledge. Although some IVAs provide a voice-training feature to prevent such impersonation, it can be difficult for the system to distinguish between similar voices. Thus, a malicious person who is able to access an IVA-enabled device might be able to fool the system into thinking that he or she is the real owner and carry out criminal or mischievous acts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An intelligent virtual assistant ( IVA) or intelligent personal assistant ( IPA) is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on commands or questions. Sometimes the term " chatbot" is used to refer to virtual assistants generally or specifically accessed by online chat.

# data[].attributes.headline
decisions for your future self, Hal Hershfield | End Well

# data[].attributes.subject
decisions for your future self, Hal Hershfield | End Well

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making better decisions for your future self, Hal Hershfield | End Well

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
“How can we help our future selves?” | Hal Hershfield | TEDxEast

# data[].attributes.headline
Psychology of The Future Self - Prof. Hal Hershfield

# data[].attributes.subject
Psychology of The Future Self - Prof. Hal Hershfield

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Life Changing Psychology of The Future Self - Prof. Hal Hershfield

# data[].attributes.headline
להלן “מפת דרכים” עדכני

# data[].attributes.body
להלן “מפת דרכים” עדכנית של האנשים, המוסדות והמקורות המעניינים ביותר היום סביב Possible Selves / Future‑Self‑Continuity. חילקתי אותה לשלושה אשכולות—אקדמיה ומעבדות, גופים יישומיים‑ארגוניים, ומשאבים אישיים (ספרים, פודקאסטים, כלים דיגיטליים)—כדי שיהיה קל לבחור לאן להתעמק.

1. חוקרים ומעבדות מובילות

מיאיפהמה מייחד אותםלינק/כיוון המשךפרופ' דפנה אוייזרמןUniversity of Southern California, Mind & Society Centerמפתחת גישת Identity‑Based Motivation וסדנת “Pathways to College” לבני נוער. בשנים האחרונות מעבירה את ההתערבות גם במתכונת דיגיטלית היברידית. ResearchGateמאמרי 2024 על חטיבות ביניים, ערכות התנסות למורים.פרופ' הל הרשפילדUCLA Andersonחוקר תחושת הקרבה לעצמי העתידי (Future‑Self Continuity). הספר החדש Your Future Self (2023) משרטט מודל יישומי לחיסכון, בריאות וקבלת החלטות. Hal Hershfieldלקרוא את הפרק על “Time Travel in VR” + הופעתו בפודקאסט Behavioral Grooves.הייזל מרקוס (יחד עם שותפים צעירים במעבדת Culture & Emotion, סטנפורד)Stanfordחוזרת לנושא Possible Selves בהקשרי תרבות והתפתחות באמצע החיים (Mid‑Life Possible Selves).סמינר “Selves Across Cultures” (קורס פתוח ב‑Coursera).ד"ר לאורה קארסטנסןStanford Center on Longevity – New Map of Lifeמחברת את Possible Selves להזדקנות מוצלחת ותכנון 100‑Plus‑Year Life. WSJסדרת וובינרים “Future Self Now” + קולות קוראים לשיתופי פעולה בינלאומיים.MIT Media Lab – Future You (צוות Pattie Maes, Lauren Lee, Etienne Hutcheson)MITפלטפורמת צ’טבוט‑תאום דיגיטלי שמדמה את “אתה בעוד 30 שנה” ומשלבת LLM ו‑דימות הזדקנות. תוצאות פיילוט 2024 מצביעות על ירידה בחרדה והגדלת תחושת רצף עצמי. MIT Media Lab The Guardianניתן לבקש גישה לגרסת Beta או לצפות בהרצאה מפסטיבל WSJ Future of Everything 2024.

עוד שמות שכדאי לעקוב אחריהם: Daniel Bartels (UChicago), Eve‑Marie Blouin‑Hamelin (UdeM) על חיבור Future Self‑Continuity לכלכלה התנהגותית; Marissa King (Yale) על רשתות חברתיות ו‑Possible Selves בארגונים.

2. גופים ויוזמות יישומיות

ארגון/פרויקטמה עושים בפועלאיך להתחברStanford Center on Longevity – Longevity Design Challengeתחרות שנתית לפרויקטים שמחזקים קשר לעתיד רחוק בתחומי בריאות, פיננסים וקהילה.הגשת רעיונות או הצטרפות כמנטור.Future Self Network (קואליציית חוקרים + מעצבי מוצר)מפגשי זום חודשיים, מאגר קוד פתוח של כלים ל‑BPS, VR ו‑Self‑Avatar.הרשמה חינמית דרך Slack קהילתי.Pathways to Power (Alliance for Learning Identity, ארה”ב)מעביר למורים ערכות “Possible Selves Classroom” ו‑micro‑credentials.ניתן להוריד ערכה הדגמה ולבקש שיתוף פעולה בינלאומי.BetterUp Labsמשלבים תרגיל ה‑Best Possible Self בתוך אימון מנהלים אונליין; מדווחים על ירידה ב‑burnout.white‑paper חופשי לשנת 2025.Greater Good Science Center (Berkeley)אוסף של מדריכים בחינם—BPS בכתב, תסריטים למדיטציה, שיעורים מוקלטים.מחולק לפי גיל: תלמידים, מבוגרים, גיל שלישי.

3. משאבים אישיים מומלצים

ספרים (קריאים ולא רק אקדמיים)

1. Your Future Self – Hal Hershfield, 2023 (תרגום עברי צפוי באביב 2026). אמזון

2. Possible Selves and Identity‑Based Motivation – Daphna Oyserman, 2015 (עדיין הספר המקיף ביותר למורים ומחנכים).

3. The New Map of Life – אוסף מאמרים של Stanford Longevity (2024‑2025 מהדורה דיגיטלית).

4. Best Possible Self – Ruth Baer & Itai Ivtzan, 2022 (מדריך תרגול שבועי).

מאמרים/סקירות עדכניות

Meta‑Analysis 2025 על התערבות Best Possible Self והשפעתה על רווחה רגשית – Journal of Pos Psychology (גליון אפריל 2025). ScienceDirect

“Future‑Self Avatars in VR Increase Pension Savings” – J. Economic Psychology, 2024.

פודקאסטים והרצאות

Choiceology (2024, פרק 56) – ראיון עם הרשפילד על “Time Travel for Better Choices”.

The Center for Humane Technology – Your Underrated Future (2024).

TEDx Mahindra University – Sugata Mitra על “End of Knowing” והקשר ל‑Possible Selves (לחיבור לתאומים דיגיטליים).

כלים מעשיים

Best Possible Self Journal – יומן דיגיטלי (IOS/Android) עם הנחיות יומיות, גרסה חינמית עד 30 כניסות.

Future Me.org – לשליחת מייל עתידי לעצמך; קלאסי אך יעיל כתרגיל קצר עם סטודנטים.

AI Future‑Self Avatar (beta) – MIT Future You; דורש הרשמה מוקדמת. MIT Media Lab

איך לבחור?

חינוך פורץ דרך? – לכי על Oyserman (התערבות בכיתה) ו‑Greater Good.

AI ודמוקרטיה של זהות? – שווה להעמיק ב‑MIT Future You ולחברו לרעיון התאומים הדיגיטליים שלך.

מנהיגות ו‑Coaching? – BetterUp Labs ו‑Hal Hershfield ייתנו תשתית התנהגותית + תוצרי VR לסדנה.

חיי 100 שנה ומודל “Base 80”? – Center on Longevity של קארסטנסן מתחבר ישירות לפרקים החדשים שלך על שינוי תפיסת הזמן.

מה הלאה?

אם תרצה להתעמק באחד המסלולים—למשל לבנות מודול Possible Selves לקורס החדש שלך או לשלב אווטרים עתידיים בתוכנית המאסטר—אשמח לעזור לבחור חומרי לימוד ספציפיים, ליצור קשר עם החוקרים, או לבנות סילבוס ממוקד.

איזה כיוון מרגיש לך הכי רלוונטי?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FutureMe: Write a Letter to your Future Self

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Write a letter to the future and read the public (but anonymous) letters from others. FutureMe has been delivering letters to the future for millions of people since 2002.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Does Our Cultural Identity Influence Us? with Dr. Daphna Oyserman

# data[].attributes.subject
How Does Our Cultural Identity Influence Us? with Dr. Daphna Oyserman

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Does Our Cultural Identity Influence Us? with Dr. Daphna Oyserman

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sherry Turkle (born June 18, 1948) is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She obtained a BA in Social Studies and later a Ph.D. in Sociology and Personality Psychology at Harvard University. She now focuses her research on psychoanalysis and human-technology interaction. She has written several books focusing on the psychology of human relationships with technology, especially in the realm of how people relate to computational objects.

In The Second Self, originally published in 1984, Turkle writes about how computers are not tools as much as they are a part of our social and psychological lives. "'Technology,' she writes, 'catalyzes changes not only in what we do but in how we think.'" She goes on using Jean Piaget's psychology discourse to discuss how children learn about computers and how this affects their minds. The Second Self was received well by critics and was praised for being "a very thorough and ambitious study."

In Life on the Screen, Turkle discusses how emerging technology, specifically computers, affect the way we think and see ourselves as humans. She presents to us the different ways in which computers affect us, and how it has led us to the now prevalent use of "cyberspace." Turkle suggests that assuming different personal identities in a MUD (i.e. computer fantasy game) may be therapeutic. She also considers the problems that arise when using MUDs. Turkle discusses what she calls women's "non-linear" approach to the technology, calling it "soft mastery" and " bricolage" (as opposed to the "hard mastery" of linear, abstract thinking and computer programming). She discusses problems that arise when children pose as adults online.

Turkle also explores the psychological and societal impact of such "relational artifacts" as social robots, and how these and other technologies are changing attitudes about human life and living things generally. One result may be a devaluation of authentic experience in a relationship. Together with Seymour Papert she wrote the influential paper "Epistemological Pluralism and the Revaluation of the Concrete." Turkle has written numerous articles on psychoanalysis and culture and on the "subjective side" of people's relationships with technology, especially computers. She is engaged in active study of robots, digital pets, and simulated creatures, particularly those designed for children and the elderly as well as in a study of mobile cellular technologies. Profiles of Turkle have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, Scientific American, and Wired Magazine. She is a featured media commentator on the effects of technology for CNN, NBC, ABC, and NPR, including appearances on such programs as Nightline and 20/20.

Turkle has begun to assess the adverse effects of rapidly advancing technology on human social behavior. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other was published in 2011 and when discussing the topic she speaks about the need to limit the use of popular technological devices because of these adverse effects.

Sherry Turkle was born in Brooklyn on June 18, 1948. After she graduated as a valedictorian from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1965, she began her studies at Radcliffe College. After a few years at Radcliffe, Turkle took time off from college to live and work in France. During this time she had a glimpse of France's era of social and intellectual unrest. In the early 1970s, she returned to the United States and graduated with a Bachelors in Social Studies from Radcliffe College. She then obtained a Masters in Sociology at Harvard University in 1973. She went on to earn a Doctorate in Sociology and Personality Psychology from Harvard University in 1976. Inspired by her time in France during her undergraduate years, she did her dissertation research in France, "writing about the relationship between Freudian thought and the modern French revolutionary movements." This relationship was also the subject of her first book, Psychoanalytic Politics: Jacques Lacan and Freud's French Revolution. Turkle has been married twice, first to MIT researcher Seymour Papert, and then to consultant Ralph Willard. Both marriages ended in divorce.

In The Second Self, Turkle defines the computer as more than just a tool, but part of our everyday personal and psychological lives. She looks at how the computer affects the way we look at ourselves and our relationships with others, claiming that technology defines the way we think and act. Turkle's book allows us to view and reevaluate our own relationships with technology.

In her process of evaluating our relationships with computers, Turkle interviews children, college students, engineers, AI scientists, hackers and personal computer owners in order to further understand our relationships with computers and how we interact with them on a personal level. The interviews showed that computers are both a part of our selves as well as part of the external world. In this book, Turkle tries to figure out why we think of computers in such psychological terms, how this happens and what this means for all of us.

In Life on the Screen, Turkle presents a study of how people's use of the computer has evolved over time, and the profound effect that this machine has on its users. The computer, which connects millions of people across the world together, is changing the way we think and see ourselves. Although it was originally intended to serve as a tool to help us to write and communicate with others, it has more recently transformed into a means of providing us with virtual worlds which we can step into and interact with other people. The book discusses how our everyday interactions with computers affect our minds and the way we think about ourselves.

Turkle also discusses the way our human identity is changing due to the fading boundary between humans and computers, and how people now have trouble distinguishing between humans and machines. It used to be thought that humans were nothing like machines, because humans had feelings and machines did not. However, as technology has improved, computers have become more and more human-like, and these boundaries had to be redrawn. People now compare their own minds to machines, and talk to them freely without any shame or embarrassment. Turkle questions our ethics in defining and differentiating between real life and simulated life.

In Alone Together, Turkle explores how technology is changing the way we communicate. In particular, Turkle raises concerns about the way in which genuine, organic social interactions become degraded through constant exposure to illusory meaningful exchanges with artificial intelligence. Underlying Turkle's central argument is the fact that the technological developments which have most contributed to the rise of inter-connectivity have at the same time bolstered a sense of alienation between people. The alienation involves links between social networks favouring those of proper conversations.

Turkle's main argument in the first part of the book is that our interactions with robots that simulate emotion pose serious threats to our ability to relate to one another properly. Turkle discusses robots that have been designed to interact with humans on an emotional level; she fears that they may then replace other humans and animals in these emotional roles. Turkle is concerned that we often attribute certain qualities to robots that the robots do not in fact possess, and that our emotional interactions with other humans become eroded as a direct result. Turkle's concern is that our appreciation for human interaction may become eroded.

The second part of the book examines the nature of online social interactions, and the way in which social media has changed how people, particularly younger people, connect with one another. Turkle argues that because people in interpersonal social situations, particularly young people, are often distracted by their phones, they will pay insufficient attention to one another, creating increasingly shallow relationships. Turkle argues that teenagers' reliance on friends' advice prevents self-reflection, leading to less personal independence.

Turkle talks about the nature of privacy in the post 9/11 world, arguing that privacy was sacrificed in exchange for safety. Turkle argues that because they have grown up as part of a world in which privacy is regarded as increasingly tenuous, children do not always appreciate the full value of privacy, which in turn causes them to share even more personal details on the web. This further depreciates the value of privacy in a self-perpetuating cycle.

Using her 15 year of experience, Turkle uses Alone Together to explore the question of whether or not technology is bringing quality to our lives. Turkle argues people use technology to escape from reality and emotions, which weakens genuine relationships.

In 2011, Turkle was interviewed by Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report, where she spoke briefly about Alone Together, and the impact that technology has on communication skills.

Turkle gave a TED talk on the subject of Alone Together in February 2012, under the title "Connected, but alone?"

Reclaiming Conversation is Turkle's examination of evolving interpersonal and intrapersonal communications, and The Power of Talk in A Digital Age. As a precursor to her novel, Turkle cites Henry David Thoreau's Walden in her organization of the book: "I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society." This book is thus divided into three general parts: a single chair for intrapersonal communication, two chairs concerning the importance of conversations in friendships, families and romances, and three chairs for interpersonal communication such as in school, work, and politics. Turkle gathered data from schools, companies, families, and articulates the statistical and psychoanalytic barriers that have forced users to "sacrifice conversation for mere connection". This trade-off in interwoven intimacies and apps ultimately withholds the necessary "face-to-face experiences that are needed for generating authentic connection".

The capacity to interact on a personal or private basis is the cornerstone to empathy, and Turkle argues that loneliness is also essential to this. Paradoxically, Turkle presents the blossoming of technologies role in our reconciliation of lonely experiences and maintaining close social interactions. While access to mobile devices can empower connections with pre-existing relationships, it can also harm the general sense of solitude and ability to meet personal and social standards on a grander scale. The ability to connect through technology then becomes the compromise that chatting online is "better than nothing".

Turkle gave a talk for Google about her book Reclaiming Conversation.

Aziz Ansari responded to Reclaiming Conversation by saying, "In a time in which the ways we communicate and connect are constantly changing, and not always for the better, Sherry Turkle provides a much needed voice of caution and reason to help explain what the f*** is going on."

Psychoanalytic Politics: Jacques Lacan and Freud's French Revolution (1978) ISBN 0-89862-474-6

The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit (1984). ISBN 0-262-70111-1

Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1995) (paperback ISBN 0-684-83348-4)

Evocative Objects: Things We Think With, (Ed.), MIT Press (2007). ISBN 0-262-20168-2

Falling for Science: Objects in Mind, (Ed.), MIT Press (2008). ISBN 978-0-262-20172-8

The Inner History of Devices, (Ed.), MIT Press (2008). ISBN 978-0-262-20176-6

Simulation and Its Discontents, MIT Press (2009). ISBN 978-0-262-01270-6

Alone Together, Basic Books (2011). ISBN 978-0-465-01021-9

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, Penguin Press (2015). ISBN 978-1-594-20555-2
The younger generation is becoming too consumed in their digital lives resulting in lack of communication with family, friends, and teachers. In addition, technology impacts our lives resulting in negative consequences and outcomes in our relationships.

Sherry Turkle, Will Taggart, Cory D. Kidd, and Olivia Dasté. (December 2006). "Relational Artifacts with Children and Elders: The Complexities of Cybercompanionship," Connection Science, 18(4):347-361.

Sherry Turkle, (July 2006). "A Nascent Robotics Culture: New Complicities for Companionship," AAAI Technical Report Series.

Sherry Turkle. (January 1996). "Who Am We? : We are moving from modernist calculation toward postmodernist simulation, where the self is a multiple, distributed system," Wired Magazine, Issue 4.01, January 1996.

Turkle is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship, the Harvard Centennial Medal, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[citation needed ]

Turkle has been named "woman of the year" by Ms. Magazine and among the "forty under forty" who are changing the nation by Esquire.[citation needed ]

In May 2015, Turkle received an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, from Franklin & Marshall College.

In June 2016, Turkle received an honorary doctorate degree from Concordia University.

In 2018 she was featured among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" by Forbes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sherry Turkle (born June 18, 1948) is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She obtained a BA in Social Studies and later a Ph.D. in Sociology and Personality Psychology at Harvard University. She now focuses her research on psychoanalysis and human-technology interaction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other? Sherry Turkle studies how our devices and online personas are redefining human connection and communication -- and asks us to think deeply about the new kinds of connection we want to have.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sherry Turkle "Technology, AI, and What Makes Us Human"

# data[].attributes.subject
Sherry Turkle "Technology, AI, and What Makes Us Human"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sherry Turkle "Technology, AI, and What Makes Us Human"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The End of Average: Harvard's Todd Rose on Why Individuality Is the Key to the Future

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Larry Todd Rose (born November 28, 1974) is an American scientist, author, professor and social entrepreneur. He is known for being the co-founder and CEO of Populace, a Boston-based think tank. Prior to Populace, Rose was a professor at the Harvard University where he served as the faculty director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program, as well as led the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality.

Rose is a scientist in developmental psychology known for his work applying dynamical systems principles to the study of development, intelligence, and learning, and for his contributions to the field of Educational Neuroscience. His research focus is in the area of the Science of the Individual, with an emphasis on applying insights about individuality to issues of human potential, talent development, and the design of social institutions.

He is also the author of the books Collective Illusions, Dark Horse, The End of Average, and Square Peg.

Rose was born in Ogden, Utah in 1974. He has stated publicly that he struggled in school from an early age, and that he dropped out of Layton High School his senior year (1993), as at the time, he had a 0.9 GPA. In 1995, after being on welfare and working multiple minimum wage jobs to support his late wife and two children, he obtained his GED and started attending night classes at a local college. Rose eventually received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Weber State University (2000), as well as a master's degree in Mind, Brain, and Education (2001) and a Doctorate in Human Development (2007) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he worked with notable psychologist Kurt W. Fischer. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Laboratory for Visual Learning at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (2008).

Rose's research focus is in the area of the Science of the Individual. His TEDx talk, "The Myth of Average", communicates the basic principles of the science of the individual and shows how its findings can be harnessed by parents, teachers, managers, and individuals to improve performance. In an excerpt from the book, End of Average, Rose relates that in the 1940s, after multiple flying accidents, the US Air Force required adjustable airplane cockpit equipment when measurements revealed zero pilots were in the average range of 10 body measurements from a population of 4,063 pilots. The measurements revealed that with only three of the ten size measurements, neck circumference, thigh circumference and wrist circumference, fewer than 3.5 per cent of pilots would fit within the average sizes on the three measurements. If a cockpit was designed for an average pilot, the cockpit fit no pilot.

To socialize insights from the Science of the Individual, and use its findings to advance public systems and culture change, Rose co-founded Populace with Parisa Rouhani. Populace is a Boston-based 501(c)3 think tank focused on advancing opportunities, so all people have the chance to live fulfilling lives in a thriving society. In 2023, the think tank conducted a private opinion survey about the concept of American Dream. The findings of the survey showed that Americans now prioritize personal achievements, such as financial independence, enjoying work, parenthood and secure retirement, over fame and wealth.

Rose authored the book, Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions ( ISBN 978-0306925689) and released it in 2022. The book reveals collective illusions, when people in a group adopt a view they don't agree with because they mistakenly believe others support it, leading to actions nobody truly wants. It was published by Hachette Books in New York.

He co-authored the book, Dark Horse: Achieving success through the pursuit of fulfillment ( ISBN 9780063000247), with Ogi Ogas in 2018. The book, published by HarperCollins, talks about the interests and abilities of people in society that nobody expects to be successful, but are successful in their own way.

In 2015, he wrote The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness ( ISBN 9780062358387), a book published by HarperOne, about the measurement of human potential through a one-size-fits-all model which is incorrect as each individual has different capabilities.

He also co-authored Square Peg: My Story and What it Means for Raising Innovators, Visionaries, and Out of the Box Thinkers ( ISBN 9781401324278) with Katherine Ellison and published it in 2013 with Hachette Books. In this book, Rose shares his personal story and provides insights to the current American school system which could help each student distinctly.

Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2020). Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 24(1), 6-36.

Cantor, P., Osher, D., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2019). Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1. Applied Developmental Science, 23(4), 307-337.

Rifai, N., Rose, T., McMahon, G. T., Saxberg, B., & Christensen, U. J. (2018). Learning in the 21st Century: Concepts and Tools. Clinical chemistry, 64(10), 1423-1429.

Stafford‐Brizard, K. B., Cantor, P., & Rose, L. T. (2017). Building the bridge between science and practice: Essential characteristics of a translational framework. Mind, Brain, and Education, 11(4), 155-165.

Rose, L. T., Rouhani, P., & Fischer, K. W. (2013). The science of the individual. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7(3), 152-158.

Rose, L.T., & Fischer, K.F. (2011). Garbage in, garbage out: Having useful data is everything. Measurement, 9, 222-226.

Rose, L.T., Daley, S.G., & Rose, D.H. (2011). Let the questions be your guide: MBE as interdisciplinary science. Mind, Brain, and Education, 5(4), 153-162.

Rose, L.T., & Fischer, K.W. (2011). The dynamics of childhood intelligence. In R.J. Sternberg & S.B. Kaufman (Eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Rose, L.T., & Fischer, K.W. (2009). Dynamic systems theory. In R. Shweder, T. Bidell, A. Dailey et al. (Eds.), The child: An encyclopedic companion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Rose, L.T., & Fischer, K.W. (2009). Dynamic development: A neo-Piagetian approach. In U. Mueller, J.M. Carpendale, & Smith, L. (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Piaget, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Schneps, M.H., Rose, L.T., Martinez-Conde, S., & Pomplun, M. (2009). Covert orienting reflex: Involuntary pupil response predicts microsaccade production. Vision, 9(8), 399.

Schneps, M.H., Rose, L.T., & Fischer, K.W. (2007). Visual learning and the brain. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1(3), 128-139.

Fischer, K.W., & Rose, L.T., & Rose, S. (2007). Growth cycles of mind and brain: Analyzing developmental pathways of learning disorders. In K.W. Fischer, J.H. Bernstein, & Immordino-Yang, M.H. (Eds.), Mind, Brain, & Education in Reading Disorders. Cambridge University Press.

Paré-Blagoev, E. J., Cestnick, L., Rose, L.T., Clark, J., Misra, M., Katzir-Cohen, T., & Poldrack, R. (2002). The neural basis of phonological awareness in normal-reading children examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, F53, 159.

Fischer, K.W., & Rose, L.T. (2001). Webs of skill: How students learn. Educational Leadership, 59, 6-12.

McVaugh, W., Mabrey, I., & Rose, L.T. (2000). Learning styles and knowledge learned in web and traditional college courses. International Journal of Psychology, S35, 247.

Rose is the son of Larry and Lyda (Burton). He is the oldest of five siblings and spent the early years of his life in Hooper, Utah. He later relocated with his family to Layton, Utah before moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts. As of 2022, Rose and his family live in Burlington, Massachusetts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Larry Todd Rose (born November 28, 1974) is an American scientist, author, professor and social entrepreneur. He is known for being the co-founder and CEO of Populace, a Boston-based think tank. Prior to Populace, Rose was a professor at the Harvard University where he served as the faculty director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program, as well as led the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The days of knowing people through averages, aggregates, and types are over. We have a new science of individuality that provides us with an unprecedented understanding of individuals on their own terms. Innovators are using this understanding to convert our cookie-cutter systems into highly personalized ones.

# data[].attributes.headline
פרק חמישי - החיים כגילוי והתהוות בין הבינה המלאכותית והאדם

# data[].attributes.subject
פרק חמישי - החיים כגילוי והתהוות בין הבינה המלאכותית והאדם

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
פרק 5 - לפרסום

# data[].attributes.headline
פודקאסט 5 - באנגלית

# data[].attributes.subject
פודקאסט 5 - באנגלית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
AI, Humanity, and Emergence: A New Economy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this episode from "The Educational Revolution" on Spotify. This Hebrew text argues that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will not diminish human roles but will instead open new avenues for human activity and growth through a process called emergence.

# data[].attributes.headline
גבול הדמיון הארגוני ותפקיד הדמיון בחשיבה ארגונית

# data[].attributes.subject
גבול הדמיון הארגוני ותפקיד הדמיון בחשיבה ארגונית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
גבול הדמיון הארגוני ותפקיד הדמיון בחשיבה ארגונית

# data[].attributes.headline
Zak Stein — The Personhood Conferral Problem: AI Risk in the Domain of Collective Intelligence

# data[].attributes.subject
Zak Stein — The Personhood Conferral Problem: AI Risk in the Domain of Collective Intelligence

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Connected Intelligence Centre | University of Technology, Sydney

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Zak Stein — The Personhood Conferral Problem: AI Risk in the Domain of Collective Intelligence

# data[].attributes.headline
מעבר לגבול הדמיון

# data[].attributes.subject
מעבר לגבול הדמיון

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
מעבר לגבול הדמיון | Education Cities | ערי חינוך

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
מעבר לגבול הדמיון מחשבות על הדרכים להצלחת המו”פ הארגוני מאמר מאת יעקב הכט במהלך השנים הרבות שבהן עסקתי בלמידת ופיתוח רעיונות חדשים, בעיקר בשדה החינוך, ניצבתי שוב ושוב מול מה…

# data[].attributes.headline
כותבים ביחד 

# data[].attributes.subject
כותבים ביחד 

# data[].attributes.body
הרעיון כולנו כותבים את הספר ביחד.

מה הכוונה?

כל הערה והארה מתקבלת בשמחה.

ולספר נצרף דף מיוחד של - החברים שכתבו את הספר...

כולכם מוזמנים לענות על השאלון המצורף

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
תורת היחסות החברתית

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
כותבים ספר ביחד

# data[].attributes.headline
החיים כגילוי והתהוות

# data[].attributes.subject
החיים כגילוי והתהוות

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
החיים כגילוי והתהוות

# data[].attributes.headline
שני עולמות של למידה:

# data[].attributes.body
שני עולמות של למידה:

1. למידת תשובות נכונות

🔹 מטרתה: להגיע לפתרון מוגדר מראש
🔹 הבסיס: ידע מצטבר, לוגיקה, חוקים קיימים
🔹 הכלים: תרגול, חזרות, בדיקות תקן
🔹 תפקיד המורה: ספק ידע ומתקן טעויות
🔹 תפקיד הבינה המלאכותית: אידיאלי — יכולה לעשות זאת בקלות

🪧 זהו עולם סגור — כל שאלה בו מחפשת תשובה שכבר קיימת.

2. למידה במרחבים ללא תשובה קיימת

🔹 מטרתה: לשהות בשאלה, לשחק, לחקור, לא לדעת
🔹 הבסיס: תהייה, חוסר ודאות, מורכבות, קונפליקט
🔹 הכלים: שיחה, הקשבה, ניסוי, אינטואיציה, יצירה
🔹 תפקיד המורה: שותף למסע, מגדל תודעה, לא מעניק תשובה
🔹 תפקיד הבינה המלאכותית: שותפה אפשרית — אך זקוקה להנחיה אנושית כדי לא "לברוח קדימה" אל תשובות.

🪧 זהו עולם פתוח — כל שאלה בו עשויה ללדת שפה חדשה.

# data[].attributes.body
ידע אינו דבר שיש, אלא דבר שקורה.

הוא לא נמצא בתשובות, אלא במפגש החי שבין אדם, חומר, תנועה והקשר.

🧵 מה זה אומר בפועל?

אינגולד בוחן פעולות כמו:

אדם שמגלף עץ,

צורף שעובד עם מתכת,

תלמיד שמצייר קו ביד רועדת,

ומראה שהבנה לא נוצרת מתוך תכנון מוקדם של הפעולה, אלא מתוך הקשבה בזמן אמת — ליד, לחומר, לרוח, לבלתי-צפוי.
כלומר: המחשבה לא מקדימה את הפעולה — היא מתהווה מתוך הפעולה.

🧩 הבחנה חשובה:

1. Knowledge About

ידע חיצוני. תיאורי.
ידע שאתה יכול לקרוא עליו, להציג במצגת, לשנן.

2. Knowledge From Within

ידע שהגוף לומד.
ידע שמתעורר מתוך אינטראקציה מתמשכת עם העולם.
למשל:

לדעת לנגן בתוף — לא רק לדעת על תופים.

להבין דינמיקה של קבוצה — לא דרך תיאוריה, אלא דרך שהות אמפתית.

🪶 אינגולד טוען שלמידה אמיתית, משמעותית, אתית — נוצרת מתוך being in the world.

🌿 למידה כהתהוות – לא כהעברה

הביקורת של אינגולד על מערכות חינוך:

הן מתייחסות לידע כאובייקט שמעבירים מ"אחד שיודע" ל"אחד שלא".

בפועל, הוא טוען: ידע אמיתי מתהווה בשדה היחסים, בגוף, בנשימה, בטעות, בחומר.

כאן החיבור הישיר לרעיונות שאתה כותב עליהם בספרך — ההבדל בין למידה מתפתחת (לינארית, שינונית, מופשטת) לבין למידה מתהווה (פתוחה, חושית, בלתי צפויה).