A difference that makes a difference: reflections on artifact-mediated-consciousness

This paper comments on the man-artifact synergism from the socio-historical and the cybernetic perspectives, more specifically the possibility of artifact-mediated consciousness. I suggest that (1) consciousness is a co-genetic phenomenon that may include an artifact as a mediating component; (2) the artifact may be a computationally-economical mediator of consciousness; (3) any analysis of artifact-mediated consciousness should include the cultural context in which it is embedded.