Jason Silva, futurist and host of National Geographic's "Brain Games," recently published a mind-bending YouTube video combining the technological prowess of AI with the artistic creativity of someone who believes in the power of psychoactive experiences. It's called "Dreaming while awake: a journey into ourselves." The description on Silva's YouTube channel describes the video as: The first art piece of the singularity: born from a human-AI collaboration by Jason Silva, Hueman Instrument and digital intelligence. Personally, I'd describe it as a surrealistic experience that seems equal parts Ted Talk and Burning Man. And, I'd add, it makes me want to eat a bunch of psychedelic mushrooms and think about the future.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. If you're a curious human being, the kind that is likely to click on an article about cognition, you've seen the fads come and go over the years, many of them related to brain "enhancement."

Exercising your brain by playing video games before major surgery can prevent delirium and help speed up the recovery process, scientists claim. Researchers from Ohio State College of Medicine gave a tablet with a brain game application to 268 patients over the age of 60 scheduled to have major surgery. Patients were asked to play brain games - a practice called'neurobics' - for an hour per day before major surgery as part of the study - and experts found it reduced the risk of postoperative delirium in those who played regularly by over 60 per cent. Doctors already recommend prehabilitation techniques for patients due to undergo surgery - but usually in the form of exercise and a healthy diet to help the body. None of the existing prehabilitation techniques address postoperative delirium, according to Ohio researchers - a condition that can slow down recovery.

The release of Blade Runner 2049 has once again inspired us to imagine what it would be like if the distinction between artificial life and humans all but disappeared. Once something else is almost as'real' as us, the idea of what it means to be human is challenged. Neuroscientists know already that such a scenario is disturbing to us – thanks to a phenomenon known as Uncanny Valley. In the experiment, when people were faced with robots that looked very robotic (think flashing lights and metal), their response was fine. But the more human the robot became, the stronger their antipathy, discomfort and even revulsion – and the spookier it seemed.

We're living in an aging nation where the older population is dramatically growing at an unprecedented rate. With aging comes the need to keep our memory sharp to maintain our quality of life. Researchers at Florida State University suggest trendy brain games for adults do little to improve memory, or stave off cognitive decline and disorders. "Our findings and previous studies confirm there's very little evidence these types of games can improve your life in a meaningful way," said Wally Boot, study author and associate professor of psychology at FSU, in a statement. Cognitive training, popularly known as "brain training," has been touted for its claims of improving cognitive abilities such as working memory, reasoning and processing speed. Brain-training companies like Lumosity, Cogmed, and Brain HQ promise to make us smarter, but Boot and his colleagues have found there is no solid scientific evidence to back up this promise.