how humans process information

(why) 9 senses ?

In modern science, we speak of 8 human senses, sometimes even more. This expands beyond the five traditionally known ones (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell) into sensory systems inside our body. Below, you can find a few bits of information on each of them. Soon we will add much more, combined  with fun experiments that explain their functioning.

With Artificial Intelligence, we expand our human sensory system by yet another dimension, helping us to master our complex world with the support of powerful adaptive computing. Obviously, we will explain that further too.

“All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason.”

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, 1781

Sight

This is one of the most impor­tant senses and helps us to orientate ourselves in the physical world around us.

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Hearing

Another essential sense, particularly when it comes to direct interaction between us and the world.

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Touch

Feel and touch gives us the ability to experience things using our skin receptors and to handle them carefully.

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Taste

What would the world be without taste? Bland is probably the appropriate word!

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Smell

Smelling helps us enjoy the world too, but also enables us to notice dangers and other things to avoid…

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Vestibular Sense

The semicircular canals located inside our ears help us position ourselves and keep our balance.

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Proprioception

This sense, provided by sen­so­ry receptors inside our muscles, tendons and joints, informs us about movement.

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence
Interoception

This sense provides us with information about what’s right or wrong inside our body.

  • Humans
  • Artificial Intelligence

The only area where computers using Artificial Intelligence truly outperform our human senses today is vision. They can process visual input faster, identify changes and differences more quickly and track much faster motion than the human eye can. When it comes to positioning – computing systems have the ability to use external information (e.g. GPS triangulation) to better orientate themselves, however, when it comes to balance, humans still win outright. In all other human senses, a healthy human still does much better.