The chapter by Vincent Miller has really opened my mind to the idea of “posthumanism” I won’t say that it is a foreign concept to me but it is not something that I conciously think about.
After reading the chapter I did a bit of self reflection. What kind of relationship do I have with my technologies? It is strictly a relationship of dependence. My technologies enhance my productivity, performance and the way I consume information. At the same time my body seems to lose its ‘independence’. My body/self is not able to do daily tasks as well as I used to before my life had become bombarded with technology. My daily routine has become too reliant on my mobile devices to get me through the day. Without my mobile devices I would not be able to find places, remember people’s birthdays or even how to cook a healthy dinner.
I find that inorder for me to maintain my human-machine relationship, my vocabulary has changed as well. I would be interested to know how many times a day I utter the words; “OK Google” or “Siri, what is the weather like today?” I could not even be bothered to turn on the news or use a search engine to find the information needed. To be honest I do feel a bit ‘God-like’ in a sense with all of this information just a few syllables away. Hopefully one day I good ask Siri to turn water into wine. Now wouldn’t that be an awesome trick.
Fig 1. Google’s Voice activated search engine
Fig 2. Apple’s variation of mobile search, Siri.
The idea of the posthuman cyborg is becoming a reality due to the dawning of wearable tech. The most wanted technology device of the 2014 was the smartwatch. Watches that you could conduct web searches on, track how many steps you have taken in a day and use to read messages. Everybody wants one and I must confess that I own one as well. It is a great piece of technology, which saves me quite a bit of time when checking and sorting through important messages.
Fig. 3. Smartwatch designed by Samsung
There is one place where I will draw the line though. I am against wearing tech on my face. I am talking in particular of Google Glass. It looks ridiculous! I think it is only useful if you decide to go dressed as Luc Devreaux from Universal Soldier for Halloween. Once we start bringing the information straight to the eyeball is the point where human and cyborg will become blurred.
Fig 4. Google Glass. Does this not look ridiculous?
Hi Emlyn, great post! I myself never got into the habit of using Siri other than quick and occassional weather checks. Siri feels a bit awkward for me, not sure why.
About Google glass, it’s interesting how wearing this kind of technology stigmatizes the wearer (many stories about them being asked to leave the room!) or associates them with unpleasant personality traits. A negative status symbol in some cases it seems, but nothing new. I remember wireless bluetooth earphones used to be considered snobbish. However, eyeglasses, contact lenses, binoculars, though obviously low tech compared with Google glass, are also forms of technology. The criteria why some forms of technology are acceptable and others not is worth thinking about.
Thanks Ed. Interesting that we are talking about Google Glass, because Google is ending the development of the technology. I wonder what they will come up of next?
Emlyn, consider exploring ‘mindfulness’ (not just meditation) if you really consider technology ‘dependence’ as an issue in your life. I think we have to ‘mindfully’ balance the impact of technology in our daily lives, otherwise we risk becoming less ‘human.’