The Cyborg has arrived !
Technology as an Extension of Man and the Concept of the Cyborg
written byAnne Manera copyright 2011
We live in a day and age in which society is bombarded with both audio and visual stimuli from many sources. While separate generations are living simultaneously in the world, each generation’s world is vastly different. Children being raised in 2005 are faced with far more challenges in society than their parents or grandparents were faced with 20-50 years ago. The area having the most influence on society today is electronic media and we are faced as a society of all generations, with learning how to manage the ever- changing technology. Feminism also plays a key role in the technologically advanced world. As our gender specific roles continue to change, technology enables one to engage in activities no longer gender specific.
As advances in technology continue, the terms cyborg, cybernetics, cyberart and cyberworld become part of our everyday vocabulary. A cyborg can be defined as a hybrid of man and machine. Anyone that has an artificial limb, takes synthetically produced medication used to support the body or alter the psyche, wears glasses, interacts with the self serve gas pump or supermarket checkout can be considered a cyborg.
In the cyberworld world of the Internet, we are able to be anyone we would like to be. An eighty-year-old man can be a 20-year-old woman; an overweight middle-aged mom of three can experience virtually, the life of a 23-year-old girl on spring break with
the body of a super model; an agoraphobic can travel the world while never leaving the security of their own home; a recluse can suddenly have thousands of online friends. The possibilities are endless. In the virtual world, our wants and desires can be fulfilled.
McLuhan contends technology is an extension of man referring to how much humans depend on technology to live out their everyday lives. Our dependency on technology grows each day as it becomes part of every aspect of our lives. Imagine a day without an Internet connection and the impact it would have on your life. Technology seamlessly has truly become a part of us. We have come to rely on the technology in our everyday life from supermarket checkouts, to online banking, shopping, and even in medicine. “Any invention or technology is an extension or self-amputation of our physical bodies, and such extension also demands new rations or new equilibriums among the other organs and extensions of the body.” (McLuhan, p. 45) Once one begins to rely on a form of technology to live one’s everyday life one finds them facing new burdens. “When the washing machine arrived in the early twentieth century, it freed housewives from hours of knuckle-shredding toil. Then, over the years, as standards of hygiene rose, we started washing our clothes more often. Result: the overflowing laundry basket is as much a feature of the modern household as the pile of bills on the front doormat.” (Honorẻ, p. 31) Technology has enabled us to perform tasks with efficiency and speed, while simultaneously, technology has burdened us with a longer “to-do” list. Our reliance on a particular form of technology supercedes our need for that form of technology.
As a society, we are becoming numb to our own physical bodies and our central nervous systems. “With our central nervous system strategically numbed, the tasks of conscious awareness and order are transferred to the physical life of man, so that for the first time he has become aware of technology as an extension of his physical body.”(McLuhan, p. 47) This extension of man has introduced to the human not only speed, but also the need for speed. In an effort to keep up with the demands of society one must be able to utilize and understand the latest technology. However, in this speedy society, human interaction suffers as we are faced with new ways to manage human relationships. This virtual world sounds like a modern day utopia, but I wonder what is happening to society and how we treat each other in the real world if all we feel comfortable doing is relating virtually, or are we only able to function with some form of technology, such as a cell phone, blackberry or MP3 player, could be distracting us from the “real” world? Humans have become so engrossed in the portable form of technology, literally in the palm of their hands, that they are ignoring the human side of life. Are we becoming so reliant on the virtual world, that we as a society are creating a generation of young adults who are only able to hold a conversation through email or instant messaging? Perhaps the world of a cyborg is easier than the world of a human. No longer is one required to think on their own, but rather some form of technology has become the pseudo thinking brain.
Cyborgs are not limited by gender, emotions, politics, guilt or shame. Cyborgs are not limited to their abilities or discriminate against based on gender making being a cyborg an attractive opportunity for a feminist. No longer are women’s roles restricted to
vulnerable employment options, but rather employment options are not gender specific. Women are not only raising families, but also working outside the home and technology can be credited for this economic change. As women’s roles in the work force change due to the changes in technology, the new technologies have an impact on the economy, politics, social issues and family life, worldwide. The world of cybernetics eliminates the self, the human, and introduces us to the concept of being posthuman, in chorus, creating a world for us that are a direct result of our own creation. A modern day Frankenstein if you will.
“The new technologies affect the social relations of both sexuality and of reproduction, and not always in the same ways.”(Haraway, p. 168) The cyborg world has become integrated with the human world and the impact on our abilities to interact socially is profound. The use of technology such as cell phones has placed such huge demands on our time, as we are now reachable round the clock. It seems human beings are no longer capable of being present in the moment without the distractions or crutch of some form of technology. Cell phones, for example, are robbing us of our consciousness as they, like the home computer, have become the a universal media machine capable being not only a telephone, but a camera, internet accessible, personal planner and phonebook. We are becoming disembodied through the use of technology as our focus becomes totally on the gadget in our hand. The first thing people look at when they are leaving a building is their cell phone. Why? Have we as a society become so distracted, dependent and a part of the technological world that we experience withdrawal when not using it for twenty minutes? “We do not see a world “out there” that exists apart from us.
Rather, we see only what our systemic organization allows us to see.” (Hayles, p. 11) As technology becomes a true extension of us, it becomes part of the entire system and will be expected by society, and as a result, the transition from human to cyborg is invisible.
As technology becomes an extension of man, we can never escape being a cyborg in some way. “The machine is not an it to be animated, worshipped and dominated. The machine is us, our processes, an aspect of our embodiment.”(Haraway, p. 180)
According to Haraway, the concept of the cyborg and the use of technology enable feminism to emerge without boundaries. In the world of the Internet there are no male or female roles. Gender becomes obsolete. The female is no longer seen as the nurturing figure it has been viewed as for centuries. Rather, male and female are placed on equal ground as the cyborg woman is now in control of the machine instead of being the one controlled. Haraway defines a cyborg as a “….cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.” (Haraway, p. 149) In the world of the cyborg we are all one; there are no opposites in the cyborg world. Human consciousness has no place in the cyborg world as human consciousness embraces polarity. Cyborgs are now a part of every human’s daily life. Technology has silently invaded the human being and their world. Our technology has become so small in size that most of the time we don’t even realize it is there.
At what point are we able to accept that robotics or artificial intelligence is able to think on its own, developing its own consciousness? As computers begin to develop their own consciousness or the ability to determine future events, we are now faced with giving up control of our destiny. Our souls, our consciousness would be turned over to
the machine. This transition to cyborg is so invisible, most humans are not even aware it has happened or is happening to them. Our personal freedom is now in the hands of the computer, which is liberating. However, with freedom comes added responsibility. Haraway contends she would rather be a cyborg than a goddess. A cyborg has no limitations, no prejudices, without gender biases, void of responsibilities either to itself or others. A goddess, on the other hand, is stereotyped as a nurturer and thought of by society as the weaker sex, burdened with responsibilities and do not require regeneration
or rebirth. As a cyborg, we can become disembodied from our physical bodies, however, the question remains as to whether or not we become disembodied from our consciousness. As we employ the use of a particular form of technology, in a sense we are in fact leaving our physical bodies as we consciously exist in 3rd, 4th and 5th dimensions. As one becomes more of a cyborg, one’s consciousness exists as a separate entity and according to Haraway, the life of a cyborg would be easier than the life of a human.
The possibilities of the advances in technology over the next century are infinite. Humans will find themselves in constant struggle between human consciousness and the cyborg consciousness as the line between the two continues to diminish. Simply being aware of the technology available to man will create a world of humans striving for more, hungry for the next new gadget, eager for something better. Will humans become carried away with the technology available to them, or will they take advantage of its possibilities, rather than maximizing its benefits? It many ways, it seems we are headed for a state of non existence as we engage in the virtual world with much more regularity.
Advances in technology in the 21st century enable all humans to become cyborgs. I wonder how many parts of man need to be replaced or assisted with technology before one is no longer human. The role one’s consciousness plays in humanity is questionable. According to McLuhan, it is possible to transfer our memory and our consciousness to a computer chip, but can one’s consciousness exist without the physical body? This is truly an example of removing ourselves from the present moment we attempt to live as a society as a single consciousness. Technology is enabling us to to be unique and exactly the same all at once, possibly existing in more than one dimension virtually. Life has become complicated in the 21st century, as expectations of the human being as it existed in the Garden of Eden have increased. When one thinks of oneself as being overextended, one is truly overextended due to the extension technology has placed on man. Ironically, advances in technology intended to make life easier, have actually created so many opportunities for us, that we have become pressed for time. Multitasking has become the norm as more and more people are utilizing cell phones while driving, shopping, banking, working out, dining out or vacationing.