Sean P. Thoennes, PhD, MA

Presented on APA 2022’s Featured Stage and streamed live globally, my contribution to the panel discussion of the Metaverse, “AI’s Storied Rise to the Medium of Self-Directed Evolution,” examines the impact of new media tools on the human psyche through the lens of terror management theory and neo-anthropogenic psychology. It explores the universal language of story as a means of transcending time and directing our own evolution as a species from information held in DNA edited with CRISPR-Cas9… Show more

Presented on APA 2022’s Featured Stage and streamed live globally, my contribution to the panel discussion of the Metaverse, “AI’s Storied Rise to the Medium of Self-Directed Evolution,” examines the impact of new media tools on the human psyche through the lens of terror management theory and neo-anthropogenic psychology. It explores the universal language of story as a means of transcending time and directing our own evolution as a species from information held in DNA edited with CRISPR-Cas9 to the digitization of contents of our brains. The philosophical and psychological implications suggest technology has always played a role in evolution, and we are reaching the “hockey stick curve” upward of exponential change. What that means remains to be seen as we approach the technological singularity, a theoretical point where a $1,000 laptop matches the computational speed of the collective intelligence of humanity, Show less

Syllabus for a course introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a media innovation to grad students in the MA program for Media Psychology at Fielding Graduate University. The course is designed to integrate established psychological and media theories with applied effects. Students are expected to follow a 12-week discovery that begins by establishing base cognitive theory and present-day AI, and develops critical thinking over time in examining lab experimentation, real-world application… Show more

Syllabus for a course introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a media innovation to grad students in the MA program for Media Psychology at Fielding Graduate University. The course is designed to integrate established psychological and media theories with applied effects. Students are expected to follow a 12-week discovery that begins by establishing base cognitive theory and present-day AI, and develops critical thinking over time in examining lab experimentation, real-world application and media depictions to inform more accurate predictions. Terror management theory, evolutionary dynamics, science fiction, robotics and neo-anthropogenic psychology play major roles. Show less

A position paper proposing a human-based approach to the development of Artificial Intelligence as a media innovation. The field neo-anthropogenic psychology invites contributions from diverse fields to cover a broad area of impact to the human psyche. This is in response to the tendency within the scientific community to work in silos and reach out to other areas only when unexpected consequences occur. By deploying a pro-active, predictive method, neo-anthropogenic psychology hopes to allay… Show more

A position paper proposing a human-based approach to the development of Artificial Intelligence as a media innovation. The field neo-anthropogenic psychology invites contributions from diverse fields to cover a broad area of impact to the human psyche. This is in response to the tendency within the scientific community to work in silos and reach out to other areas only when unexpected consequences occur. By deploying a pro-active, predictive method, neo-anthropogenic psychology hopes to allay fears and inform a more deliberate development of AI guided by goals that benefit society writ large. Show less

A look into the inner workings of corporate Disney, where it hits, where it misses, and why it continues to thrive.

A panelist on media psychology being used for good, I outlined the work we are doing to integrate Augmented Reality into memorials and using this storytelling method as a form of agency for those processing grief, passing on stories & diversifying the points of view on each subject.

On a panel assembled to discuss the technological leaps and their inevitable deviation from original intent, the concept of Neo-Anthropogenic Psychology is further explored to provide a background of evolutionary dynamics against which is placed our concerns over the changes to our environment and our capability as a species evolved over millennia of keeping pace. As with previous discussions, this tracks the successful predictive analyses put forth by Ray Kurzweil over the period of several… Show more

On a panel assembled to discuss the technological leaps and their inevitable deviation from original intent, the concept of Neo-Anthropogenic Psychology is further explored to provide a background of evolutionary dynamics against which is placed our concerns over the changes to our environment and our capability as a species evolved over millennia of keeping pace. As with previous discussions, this tracks the successful predictive analyses put forth by Ray Kurzweil over the period of several decades and assumes a similar track record going forward based on present-day evidence. Neo-Anthropogenic Psychology is a multi-disciplinary field interested in addressing the impact on the human psyche, and its definition as it moves from "real-world"​ theory to "virtual/augmented-world" theory. Show less

In the 2012 campaign, President Obama sat to take questions from anyone w/access to the Internet & the reddit social networking site. This book studies threads emanating from the conversation & uses inductive reasoning for its unique perspective, as wired & wireless political messaging in the past lack at their center the POTUS in a globally accessible, uncensored, and unmediated live chat with anonymous participants. Historical context, group theory, discourse psychology & Web Sciences inform… Show more

In the 2012 campaign, President Obama sat to take questions from anyone w/access to the Internet & the reddit social networking site. This book studies threads emanating from the conversation & uses inductive reasoning for its unique perspective, as wired & wireless political messaging in the past lack at their center the POTUS in a globally accessible, uncensored, and unmediated live chat with anonymous participants. Historical context, group theory, discourse psychology & Web Sciences inform this case study research design. President Obama’s conversation represents a gap in the knowledge for group formation around uncensored communications. Triangulating archival quantitative measures of reddit, social media and Internet trends, qualitative text analytics of the reddit discussion & historical context, forms an inductively reasoned argument to expand group process theory. A sample of Q/A threads contrasts inter-group cases to compare for replication in addition to comparisons with prior US Presidents’ uses of new technologies in the electric & electronic media era.

Analysis of President Obama’s text distinguishes Computer-Mediated Communication, traditional political messaging, and Human-Computer Interface. Findings support Optimal Distinctiveness Theory as a valid model for online groups on sites such as reddit, and an ongoing tradition for political persuasion using new media technologies such as HCI.

Historical bases for political messaging & group processes using new technologies suggest evolutionary dynamics & memetics theory are foundational to the concept that the human species not only continues to evolve, but exerts control over its evolution. How these exponential developments influence individual and group interactions in addition to their impact on the human psyche opens a new line of discussion posed as neo-anthropogenic psychology. Show less

This research explores the history and compares it to today's exponential advancements in technology to better understand where it is leading humanity. The ethical questions that surface give rise to a new multidisciplinary field of inquiry into the impact of new technologies on the human psyche herein given the name "neo-anthropogenic psychology."

In this segment of a panel presentation, the predicted technological Singularity is examined for its exponential advancements in technology and how they are expected to benefit humanity. Citing the latest information within the preceding year from the Global Future 2045 (GF2045) Congress held in New York City, the author seeks to remind the true focus of all technological works: the human to which it will apply.

This presentation pulls together the latest technological developments in an effort to sort through some of the more disruptive--and possibly disconcerting--additions that may change everyday life and the way we live it. Drawing from the aspirations of some of the most able and renowned futurist entrepreneurs, the discussion covers technologies intended to increase life expectancy with some promising immortality. These promises are broken down into what is fundamentally determined to be new… Show more

This presentation pulls together the latest technological developments in an effort to sort through some of the more disruptive--and possibly disconcerting--additions that may change everyday life and the way we live it. Drawing from the aspirations of some of the most able and renowned futurist entrepreneurs, the discussion covers technologies intended to increase life expectancy with some promising immortality. These promises are broken down into what is fundamentally determined to be new media through which an individual's story is carried forward beyond the passing of that individual. Nigel Ackland, an amputee with the world's most advanced prosthetic arm, notes the arm to be "not particularly functional...but the psychological benefit is immense," which suggests a connection, but one that has value to the surrounding community replacing a stigmatized medium--that of a missing arm--with a fascinating connector. When technology enables us to tell our story in spite of ourselves, it has a benefit to the human. When it serves to replace us, it is merely a stand-in with no benefit to the human it represents, except as a remembrance. Show less

During the 2012 Presidential general election, social media played a large role in both campaigns. The Obama campaign decided to go one step further and hold an unmediated Q and A with the Reddit community, a social media website where anonymity and Internet freedom is cherished; and the members are known for their online activism and irreverence toward mainstream icons. Making the move even riskier, Obama's administration was in the midst of prosecuting Aaron Swartz, a founding member of… Show more

During the 2012 Presidential general election, social media played a large role in both campaigns. The Obama campaign decided to go one step further and hold an unmediated Q and A with the Reddit community, a social media website where anonymity and Internet freedom is cherished; and the members are known for their online activism and irreverence toward mainstream icons. Making the move even riskier, Obama's administration was in the midst of prosecuting Aaron Swartz, a founding member of Reddit. This qualitative study analyzes what was asked and how it was answered. It serves as a precursor to a more in-depth case study through the lens of group process theories. Show less

Examining the implications of a world in which our work, personal, and social life is all shared online with promises of a better future all at the cost of individual privacy and security.

2013 American Psychological Association symposium discussing the disruption caused by new technologies. My contribution entitled "Social Media Artificial Intelligence: Connecting to a Central Consciousness" discusses the exponential advances in technology that is beginning to show evidence of a collective intelligence growing through the Internet as we approach a Singularity wherein mechanical enhancements of human evolution becomes possible.

2012 American Psychological Association panel presentation on the psychological impact and promise of new communications technologies that increasingly connect geographically disparate communities, cultures, and individuals. From the potential of AR to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the observed rising levels of narcissism via social media might mean, this analysis opens the conversation into the gray areas of Internet connectivity. "Social Media & Individual Empowerment" speaks… Show more

2012 American Psychological Association panel presentation on the psychological impact and promise of new communications technologies that increasingly connect geographically disparate communities, cultures, and individuals. From the potential of AR to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the observed rising levels of narcissism via social media might mean, this analysis opens the conversation into the gray areas of Internet connectivity. "Social Media & Individual Empowerment" speaks directly to groups such as Anonymous & those leading to the Arab Spring as establishing a firm foothold and claim on the loosely defined "5th Estate." It also discusses the idea that narcissism found on the Internet may have a moderating impact that can be healthy if the nuclear self is allowed more continual feedback from the community writ large. Show less

2008 Broadcast Educators Association Convention panel convened to present four perspectives on producing media content for the advent of small-screen devices.