While re-reading some chapters of Interdisciplinarity, I returned to and came across Moran’s discussion of technology and cyborgs in our modern day. It reminded me not only of a video I had seen of a man who became a cyborg, but it also reminded me of Lauren’s blog post I read in the beginning of the year titled, “Civilized Cavemen.”
In her post, Lauren speaks of our generation’s dependence on technology, and how social media diminishes our connectedness amongst each other. Although she credits technology for being a benefit to our lives saying, she counters it saying, “it has also done an extreme disservice to our ability to socially interact.” She also writes, “we are so obsessed with making it seem like we are having the time of our lives through sharing photos, videos, status updates…but in all reality we are missing everything that we are experiencing.” I agree with Lauren, because technology, specifically social media, has lessened our interactions with each other and ourselves. No longer do we focus on experiences as they happen, we are more focused on centering them around technology and making sure they are remembered rather than lived.
Yes, technology has greatly influenced our lives in a major way, specifically social media, whether it be for better or for worse. But Moran brought up an interesting point about technology explaining how to some people, it can be life changing. Moran writes, “it is not difficult to think of examples of this melding of technology with the human: developments in medicine and micro-technology have produced artificial hip joints and limbs, as well as ear and eye implants for the deaf and blind…” (Moran 148). Although Moran later brings up a more mundane example of cyborgs, which Lauren referred to in her blog post, of us being cyborgs whenever we use modern technology such as the computer or television, he initially brought up a very positive effect of technology within our society: cybernetic enhancements.
Neil Harbisson, who was born with a rare conditioned called Achromatopsia, was featured in a Ted Talk back in 2012. Achromatopsia caused him to be completely color blind from birth. In this Ted Talk, however, Harbisson promotes the idea of his cybernetic enhancement which helps him hear color. His, “electronic eye”, as it’s called, has a color sensor that detects color frequency in front of him so that he can hear the frequency of the color. This has been his life since 2004, and now, he says that it’s apart of his identity.
After dreaming in color, Harbisson knew that the cybernetic enhancement was apart of his life. He said, “[dreaming in color] was when I started to feel that the cybernetic device was no longer a device. It had become a part of my body, an extension of my senses, and after some time, it even became a part of my official image.” Harbisson has used his cybernetic enhancement to redefine who he is. Now, he can enjoy going to art galleries, recognizing people, and dressing himself in ways that he was not able to before.
Specifically, at the end of talk, Harbisson brought up how the electronic eye was able to increase his senses beyond what a normal human can perceive. He can now hear ultraviolet and infrared rays with his electronic eye. He also created the Cyborg Foundation, which helps people become cyborgs and to extend their senses beyond what is humanly possible. At the conclusion of the talk he said, “I think life will be much more exciting when we stop creating applications for mobile phones and we start creating applications for our own body.” He later encourages others to become cyborgs as well to increase your senses beyond what is humanly capable.
What Harbisson brought up towards the end of talk stood out to me, and it goes back to what Moran and Lauren said initially. Technology is something that has been incorporated into our lives, perhaps more than we are comfortable with, in today’s world. What Harbisson is saying is that instead of using that technology for entertainment purposes, it could be put to a more meaningful and personal use. Technology has not only changed Harbisson’s life for the better, it has also allowed him to understand more of the world around him.
So yes, technology can rip us from reality or consume our lives, but it can also help us in so many ways whether we need it or not. We’ve come to a point in our history that so many things can be possible in our world, so perhaps our next step is using technology in ourselves to become even bigger and better. Even though it may seem scary, cybernetic enhancements could make a huge difference in our world and the way we live our lives. Harbisson encourages not only the people who need cybernetic enhancements to become cyborgs, but also normal people who want to know more and become more familiar with the world around them. So, just as Harbisson encouraged people to become cyborgs, I encourage you to hear it from himself in his Ted Talk, and to see just what this technology can really do.