Brain cognition is constrained by the five senses, limiting its scope and categories.
Our brain's cognitive processes are bound by our five senses, as our thoughts merely combine and deconstruct information provided by these senses. Cognition beyond what our senses can perceive is impossible. For instance, we can't imagine something we've never encountered before. Try to imagine a color you've never seen. Can you do it? Absolutely not. At best, we can only combine colors we've already seen. Or try to imagine the taste of food you've never eaten, like ambrosia. You might imagine it tasting like mineral water, cola, or a combination of familiar flavors. Essentially, we can only imagine tastes we've already experienced.
We cannot contemplate things our five senses haven't encountered, thus limiting our cognitive range and categories. Since we consider the brain as the basis of cognition, it's challenging to alter its fundamental nature. However, attempts are being made to change this. How are we trying to change the brain's nature? Elon Musk proposes implanting a chip in the brain. But can this truly change the brain? Not at all! The chip is an invention of the human brain itself. It can help expand memory, data collection, analysis, and combination functions, but it can't fundamentally change the brain.
While an AI chip implanted in the brain could greatly expand certain brain functions, making it more "knowledgeable and experienced," can this acquired knowledge fundamentally change our qualitative understanding? No! Can an AI chip in the brain allow us to see hell? Impossible. Frankly, the AI chip itself and the very act of implanting an AI chip might be considered a form of hell. Essentially, seeking external solutions won't work; it can't fundamentally change the nature of brain cognition. After implanting an AI chip, without meditative practice, can it make you open-minded, give you supernatural abilities to see the six realms and pure lands, or instill bodhicitta? Absolutely not, because AI is merely an extension of human cognitive abilities and cannot bring about qualitative changes on its own.
The human brain has inherent limitations. We attempt to overcome these by altering our environment and using tools like mathematics and logic. However, this approach rarely leads to fundamental changes in our perception. We remain unable to see ultraviolet light, the six realms of existence, or the Pure Land because our brain's cognitive boundaries restrict what we can perceive and understand.
While AI enhances our brain's capabilities in areas like computation, data collection, and memory, it cannot fundamentally alter our cognitive processes. This is because brain cognition is individualized, whereas mind cognition transcends the individual. As one progresses in mind cognition, even the sense of self dissolves, eliminating attachment to self and phenomena. We'll explore this concept further later.
Excerpted from: Cognition and Expression Part Three
