Cognitive Extension
Pilot Phase Implementation Plan
A Research Program of the Ic² Research Institute
⚡ Pilot Phase
📄 Published Foundation
🧠 Neuroscience
🌐 Open Science
Published Foundation
This pilot is based on a 70+ page published paper: AI-Mediated Cognitive Extension: Engineering Solutions to Substrate Constraints. The paper provides complete theoretical framework, experimental protocols, and implementation specifications.
The narrow channel capacity of conscious processing, about 10 bits per second, is a substrate constraint, not a cognitive ceiling. The question is whether it can be worked with deliberately.
Biological cognition runs on a conscious bandwidth of about 10 bits per second, after compressing sensory input by about a hundred million to one. This is not a flaw in the system. It is the system prioritizing survival-relevant information. The constraint is real and it shapes everything from working memory limits to decision fatigue to the felt sense of cognitive overload.
The COSMIC Framework frames this as an information-theoretic substrate constraint rather than a fixed biological ceiling. If the constraint is informational rather than purely physical, it may be addressable through information architecture: systems that extend the effective bandwidth by handling bandwidth-intensive processing outside the biological channel.
NBI carries no survival overhead. No hunger, sleep, or social positioning competing for bandwidth. It can handle pattern recognition, retrieval, and compression at scales that biological cognition cannot sustain. The question is not whether NBI is smarter. It is whether the combination of biological adaptive reasoning and NBI pattern processing produces outcomes that neither achieves alone.
Five sets of testable predictions anchor the pilot phase. Working memory capacity is predicted to remain unchanged while effective cognitive throughput increases, confirming the optimization-not-expansion hypothesis. Neuroplastic adaptation is predicted to follow a specific timeline: three to twelve months for conscious tool use to become automatic cognitive extension. The autonomic control test asks whether neurofeedback accelerates the predicted adaptation curve.
The Landauer prediction is the most directly framework-connected. Landauer's principle sets the minimum energy to erase one bit: about 3 × 10−21 joules at body temperature. That is far too small to read as heat in a brain running on about 20 watts, so the test is energy per bit: how far above Landauer's floor the brain operates, measured from metabolic cost against information processed, and whether that changes with tool use, sleep and meditation. It connects the cognitive extension research directly to the principle that information is physical.
All five prediction sets are pre-registered before data collection begins. All data is published open access. All analysis code is released under MIT license. Phase 2 advancement requires demonstrated 30%+ improvement in at least two of three primary cognitive metrics.
Four phases with defined deliverables and go/no-go criteria at each stage
Team recruitment and onboarding. IRB submissions for all test protocols. University partnership agreements. Development environment and equipment procurement. Deliverable: fully staffed team, IRB approval, operational lab space.
Information encoding system alpha. Dynamic semantic layering. Spatial-visual knowledge representation. Autonomic control neurofeedback (30 subjects). Sleep study pilot (10 subjects). Deliverable: functional alpha system, preliminary data.
Public beta (50–100 participants). Cognitive augmentation RCT (40 subjects). Comprehensive sleep studies (40 subjects). Autonomic control validation (60 total subjects). fMRI every 6 weeks. Monthly working memory assessments.
Comprehensive data analysis. Statistical significance testing. System optimization. 3–5 peer-reviewed publication submissions. Open-source system release. Phase 2 go/no-go decision. Phase 2 funding acquisition if validated.
Phase 2 advancement requires all of the following:
Phase 1 requires a core team of 5–7 people plus university collaborators.
Principal Investigator
Michael K. Baines, Ic² Research Institute. Framework oversight and program direction.
Lead AI/ML Engineer · Recruiting
Information compression systems. PhD/MS in CS, ML/AI expertise, NLP experience required.
Neuroscience Lead · Recruiting
Test study design and analysis. PhD, fMRI/EEG expertise, clinical research experience required.
Clinical Research Coordinator · Recruiting
Study management, IRB, participant recruitment. MS/RN, 3+ years clinical research coordination.
Software Engineers (2) · Recruiting
UI/UX and backend systems. React, Python, cloud infrastructure.
Partners We Are Seeking
University neuroscience and sleep laboratories for fMRI access, sleep research, statistical support, and IRB oversight. Meditation centers for experienced-meditator recruitment and default-mode-network expertise.
Phase 1 requires $2–5M over 24 months. The minimum budget enables proof-of-concept with limited test scope. The optimal budget provides comprehensive testing across all five prediction sets.
Primary cost categories
Core research team (24 months)
EEG, biofeedback, fMRI access
Cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP)
Participant compensation (140 subjects)
IRB and ethics compliance
Open-access publication fees
If you are interested in funding or co-funding Phase 1, contact ic2.info@proton.me.
This program needs participants. Phase 1 beta testing (months 10–15) will open to 50–100 public participants for the cognitive augmentation protocol. No special background is required. What is required is willingness to use the system consistently and complete monthly assessments.
The three test protocols also recruit from specific populations:
Cognitive augmentation: 40 subjects across expertise levels. 6-month participation, intensive protocol.
Autonomic control: 60 subjects. 6-month training, monthly assessments. Meditators and non-meditators both needed.
Sleep studies: 40 subjects. Multiple overnight sessions. No prior experience required.
Participant recruitment opens when IRB approval is confirmed. Subscribe to be notified.
Whether you are a researcher, a potential funder, or someone who wants to participate in the beta phase, this program is open. The published paper gives you the full theoretical foundation before you commit to anything.
Read the Paper Get Involved Program Overview