This document proposes the concept of "Smart Landscapes" as an integral approach to understanding the convergence of emerging technologies like NBIC (Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno) with human culture and transcendence. It argues that with technologies like the Internet of Things, the boundaries of the cognitive system and self extend beyond the human body. The "Smart Landscape" represents a posthuman condition where one's social space and interactions construct the environment as an extension of the self. It envisions personalized, interactive landscapes replacing city districts as a space for open communication and cultural symbol actualization between posthuman beings.

1. Smart Landscapes concept
Connecting the socio-cultural,
economic and transcendent
dimensions of Human Enhancement
and Smart Environment
Vadim V. Chekletsov, Institute of Philosophy of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, Department for Interdisciplinary Problems of
the Scientific and Technological Development

2. From a Smart Environment to
Smart Landscapes:
Toward a topological version of the
posthuman personology.
Chekletsov Vadim V.1
New trends of NBIC-convergence, Human Enhancement
Technologies on the one hand and Smart Environment
(Ambient intelligence, Ubiquitous computing, Internet of
Things) on the other prepare us to a future paradigm shift
blurring Anthropology and Social Philosophy borderlines.
We see not only co-evolution of anthropotechnological
and socio-cultural development but a real convergence of
Human Artifacts and Human Body spheres to the specific
posthuman condition, when a social space became really
alive. The Person self-re-presentation now we can imagine
as new Ecological system for Other. This Posthuman Being
virtual world self-actualization into material world of a
certain Earth (or potentially- extraterrestrial) landscape is
like ontological Game of the Universe. Such a personalized
Chronotope is autopoetic Environment 2.0. This extended
Body is interactive intersubjective space open for
communication with Other in Present; and at the same time
Smart Landscape is postanthropological genius loci-
externalized Memory, active playing field actualizing
Hyperspace of Humanity Culture symbols, memes - Smart
Landscape now is their form of existence in Eternity. Smart
Landscape and Other Interaction is a laboratory producing
Future patterns and New Societies forms toward a
polyontological Multiverse . Smart Landscape concept is
1chekletsov@mail.ru, Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Moscow (IPH RAS, http://iph.ras.ru/), Department for Interdisciplinary Problems of the
Scientific and Technological Development.

3. valuable as an integral synergy approach to the socio-
cultural, transcendent and economic dimensions of
emerging technologies and it can provide sustainable
development in the modern situation of high existential risks.
The boundaries of a cognitive system.
According with Juval Portugali «The Seven Basic
Propositions of SIRN» (Synergetic Inter-Representation
Networks)2:
The issue of the boundaries of the cognitive system touches
upon the behaviorism-cognitivism historical controversy. Behaviorism
(Fig.2) suggested understanding cognitive phenomena in terms of the
relations between stimuli and responses in the external environment .
That is, in terms of external representations only, with the mind/brain
considered as a blackbox (B-B). Cognitivism (Fig.1) suggests the exact
opposite: cognitive phenomena must be understood in terms of
internal processes and representations, treating stimulus-response
relations as means to reveal processes inside the mind/brain . In both
the mind/brain with its internal representations, and the environment
with its external representations, are perceived as two essentially
independent and causally related, entities. SIRN suggests perceiving
the boundaries of the cognitive system, that is, to treat the behaviorist
and cognitivist perceptions as two aspects of a single, integrated,
inter-representational network (Fig.3). Note that unlike behaviorism
that considered bodily external representations only, the SIRN system
proposed here includes also artifactual representations. The
suggestion to include artifacts within the boundaries of the cognitive
goes back to Vygotsky. According to him, signs, tools, activities, or
artifacts, as Cole prefers to call them, are all integral elements of the
cognitive system by virtue of their role as mediators in higher
psychological processes.
2
Humans have an innate capability for representation that comes in two forms:
internal and external (1). This shows up in many cognitive tasks that evolve as a
sequential interaction between internal and external representations (2).
Representations enfold, and convey quantitative (Shannonian) and qualitative
(semantic) information (3), and they coexist in implicate and explicate relations (4),
in a way reminiscent of the relations between genotype and phenotype (5). From
propositions 1-5 follows that the boundaries of the cognitive system should be
perceived as distinct from the boundaries of the brain/skull and the body/skin (6).
The above network of internal and external representations emerges as a self-
organizing system. Its dynamics is best captured by Haken’s synergetic approach to
self-organization(7).

4. We add to Portugali Inter-representation scheme (Fig.3)
following elements (Fig.4):
1. WEB («Classic» Internet) with person’s re-presentations
(blogs, social nets…). It’s interesting that modern WEB
consist of re-presentations not only living people. We
can speak about WEB like as Human Culture re-
presentation.
2. WEB OF THINGS (Internet of things) with RFID
technology is an active communicative field, where
person’s re-presentations actualize through the
«Classic» Internet3
3. OTHER with a pattern of Inter-representation with YOU
and !SELF! (remember K. Pribram Holographic Brain)
So our Inter-representation network is synergetic (SIRN)4,
with OTHER and Internet of Things our Smart Environment
(Fig.4) is a communicative (N. Luman) cybernetic system of
second order (G.Bateson) with complexity effects.
3 Naturally with men-thing «classic» actions and communication between things only.
4
It’s indifferent to ask «is my environment constructs my cognition» or «is my cognition
constructs my environment » because we see self-organizing process:
You change posters of your room wall from topless girls to Einstein portrait and so
once because of it next week maybe you will read a book about cosmology and
further maybe you will buy and hang on a wall one more poster with a Hubble photo
of wonderful Galaxy.

5. From Smart Environment situation (Fig.4) we expect
only one step to the posthuman condition signed Smart
Landscape:
The boundaries of a Person.
1. The boundary of «I» is dynamic.
It follows, firstly, from the physiology of perception5, and
secondly - from the many cultural concepts of identity in
psychology (K. Levin, K.-G. Jung, L. Vygotsky, Mikhail M.
Bakhtin, and etc.)
2. Expanding the topology of the Identity out of the
physical boundaries of the body:
- Ambiguity of subject-object boundaries, self body
scheme in relation to psychological phenomena,
- Technology as extracorporal body parts (Ernst Kapp),
- Identification with image things (fashion),
- Transformative anthropological practices (body-without-
organs),
- Processes of social identification, etc.
3. We want to expand and to deepen the concept of
trading zones6.
Trading zones should be not only a space of specialists
communication to put into practice the Nano - Bio - Info -
and Cogno - projects, but a broader Institute- Subjects of
New Societies self-realization and self- representation
Space using the full potential of converging technologies
and Humanity Culture.7
5 Sonde phenomenon and changing body scheme: Lucilla Cardinali (2009), Henry
Head, Gordon Holmes (1911), Becesy ( 1967)…
6 The term of Peter Galison for US NNI
7 Like a certain modern form of Hermann Hesse The Glass Bead Game in Castalia

6. 4. Smart Landscape like New Ecological Space.
New city concept:
- Instead of districts - personalized interactive landscapes.
- Your social space now - really alive.
- Smart Landscape like as ontological Game is a Person for
You.
- Such a Smart Landscape is a genius loci: the spirit of
personality-refraction place with Culture phenomena
actualization. This reflexive, active playing field recovers
Hyperspace of Humanity Memory signs, symbols, patterns,
memes- Smart Landscape now is their form of existence in
Eternity.8
5. Smart Landscape is inclusion of integral approach of
Vseedinstvo («Integral Knowledge», «All-unity», «True,
Good, Beauty» or «Sciences, Religions, Arts» Unity) to the
«NBICS …» -convergence projects. Vseedinstvo is
convergence too; it is a convergence of Humanity cultural,
pragmatic and transcendence spheres. And by
Vseedinstvo Smart Landscape is co-Creation to Imago Dei9
Ergo…
8 Akin to the WiCC concept «Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno-Socio-Anthro-Philo-Geo-Eco-
Urbo-Orbo-Macro-Micro-Nano». Converging Technologies –Shaping the Future of
European Societies by Alfred Nordmann, Report 2004
9 Transhumanism and the imago Dei.Narratives of apprehension and hope. Stephen
Robert Garner. The University of Auckland, 2006; The triangle of new and emerging
technologies, disabled people and the World Council of Churches; Able-ism: A
prerequisite for transhumanism By Dr. Gregor Wolbring
http://www.bioethicsanddisability.org/; Russian cosmism, Neoteilhardism also tend
to this point of view.

7. Integral synergy approach to the socio-cultural,
transcendent and economic dimensions of
Emerging Technologies (NBIC-convergence and
Smart Environment) can be provided by new
Smart Landscape concept. Smart Landscape is a
Posthuman Body meta-form: extrapolation of
Person Topology to a real interactive autopoetic
Environment Space for Other. So Smart Landscape
is Posthuman Being topological self-representation
and self-actualization, where he constructs his
Body as a social space to another
postanthropological Person.