Cognitive artifacts reconsidered: introducing anti-cognitive artifacts, hostile anti-cognitive artifacts, and cognitive traps

In this article, I acknowledge that a significant portion of the literature on cognitive artifacts is committed to what calls the “dogma of harmony,” namely, the inclination among 4E cognition scholars to stress human – technology cooperation while minimizing potential drawbacks related to technology use. I challenge this dogma by arguing that artifacts involved in cognitive processes do not always aid, enhance, or improve them. Instead, we need to take seriously the possibility that some artifacts may negatively affect cognitive functioning: they may also harm or cause cognition to deteriorate. In this perspective, alongside cognitive artifacts, I propose recognizing the existence of anti-cognitive artifacts that hinder or impair cognitive performances. I also propose to situate both cognitive and anti-cognitive artifacts within the broader category of scaffoldings and to identify two specific subclasses of anti-cognitive artifacts, which I refer to as hostile anti-cognitive artifacts and cognitive traps. By overturning the assumption that all artifacts involved in cognition make a positive contribution, this article aims to amend and rebalance the existing literature on cognitive artifacts.