Cyborg: Human’s Next Evolution
Around 12 million years ago, human beings were simply apes and now, we have come to a point where we can build such apes! From customizing the physical features to expanding the mental capabilities, humans have the power over everything!
Amber Case highlights a traditional definition of a cyborg as an organism “to which exogenous components have been added to adapt to new environments”. Well, if we think about it, it’s basically us with our gadgets. Yes, we are cyborgs before we even know it! The human brain can do simple mathematics such as multiplication, but if someone asks us, we simply take our phones out and use the calculator. From simple daily chores to sending people to space, humans are completely dependent on technology. As Elon Musk says, “The phone is an extension of yourself.. If you forget your phone, its a missing limb!” And it would not be wrong to say that this particular limb has been one of the most important parts of the human body in today’s digital world. Donna Haraway’s concept of modern cyborg is very much similar. She emphasizes on the interwoven relationship between humans and technology and aptly quotes, “Technology is not neutral. We’re inside of what we make, and it’s inside of us. We’re living in a world of connections — and it matters which ones get made and unmade.”
Moreover, technological advancement of biomechanical prostheses such as bionic limbs, hearing aid, electronic eyes, microchip installation in human bodies, and so on have made humans and technology inseparable. Some perfectly healthy people also transform themselves into cyborgs to understand their work of art better. Moon Ribas, a dancer and a choreographer, has a sensor implanted on her body which vibrates when there is any seismic activity on the planet. She says that she wanted to “experience movement in a deeper way” and calls her performance “a duet between the earth and myself”.
This may seem a little odd for us right now, but the day isn’t that far when we all will turn into actual cyborgs. But, this does not necessarily mean the end of “human”. Braidotti argues that the change from anthropocentric settings to the integration of humans and non-humans can provide a better understanding of humans and other species, and also contribute to the sustainability of our entire planet. The concept of cyborg plants is a good example of a blend of living tissue and senors to better understand the plant-life and environment as a whole.
All in all, the era of cyborgs, what LoveLock calls it, the Novacene — literally, the “new new” age is here! We can see all kinds of social activities and human interactions happening around us; the change is just that the world has gone digital. Hopefully, we will get to see further technological advancements that benefit the human-nonhuman dynamics and create a safer digital world.
References:
Braidotti, R. (2013). The Posthuman. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14803527-the-posthuman
Bryan, N. (2020). 7 Real-Life Human Cyborgs [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.treehugger.com/real-life-human-cyborgs-4863961
Case, A. (2010). We are all cyborgs now [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now?language=en#t-22500
Climate Change, Meet Cyborg Plants — Horizon 2020 — European Commission. (2020). Retrieved 26 August 2020, from https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/news/climate-change-meet-cyborg-plants
CNN Staff (2018). Moon Ribas: The cyborg dancer who can detect earthquakes. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/moon-ribas-cyborg-smart-creativity/index.html
Graham, R. (2019). ‘If you can’t beat them join them’: Elon Musk says our best hope for competing with AI is becoming better cyborgs [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com.au/elon-musk-humans-must-become-cyborgs-to-compete-with-ai-2019-8?r=US&IR=T
Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and SocialistFeminism in the Late Twentieth Century. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, pp.149–181. Retrieved from https://www.sfu.ca/~decaste/OISE/page2/files/HarawayCyborg.pdf
Powell, C.S. (2019). Cyborgs will replace humans and remake the world, James Lovelock says. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/cyborgs-will-replace-humans-remake-world-james-lovelock-says-ncna1041616