Monday, March 26, 2007

Reading Notes Again - The Human Cyborg Paradox

Let me make this blunt: I don't think humans are cyborgs. The thought of it is seriously disconcerting to me. Humans are carbon based beings that should only use machinery on their bodies when necessary. The turning of bodies into machinery holds many moral consequences.

Humans are akin to cyborgs in theory. We are trained to do specific tasks (education) and implement them every day (work). We break down if we're not maintained (injury, sickness), and must get fixed if this occurs (Go to the doctor). But humans have totally different aspect when it comes to one thing: free will. We can choose what profession we want to do, and we can pick the places where we work. We can choose which doctor to see and when to see him when it is prudent. Humans make educated choices, cyborgs do not. The case can be made for the idea of Artifical Intelligence as a form of free will. Is free will just a set of if and for loops that our brain takes and follows, just like a computer program? This is a tough question. One argument is that of the quality known as a soul. Is there a secondary being in ourselves that is inherently objectified to free will? The soul can't be quantified, so it certainly can't be implemented into the AI of a cyborg.

My point is this: People like Stelarc are dabbling in playing God. A cyborg arm is perfect for an amputee. They certain NECESSITATE it. But for some reason, it leads me to thinking about the villian from Spider-Man 2 whose name eludes me. He had that array of arms that did his bidding, and the power of superiority was part of his problem. Something tells me that a slippery slope pattern is possible to form. Cyborg implants to a human to give them an advantages could create an arms race for the "perfect" human, and could eliminate the human all together. WE are imperfect beings, with physical shortcomings. To give implants to a perfectly healthy person would give them a superiority complex that could get out of control. Giving an amputee a new arm with full mobility is fine, because he is back of a level playing field as the rest of us.

Sports is built on a superiority complex, though. It's fine the way it is now. If everyone was exactly the same, games would end in ties. But the difference in talent is discrete comepared to the perfect cyborg control. Think of the Bionic Man. Technology, as we have seen, can get out of control. We can't guarantee that someone with malevolent tendencies can take things out of control. Don't play God. Accept who you are.

1 comment:

Andy said...

I do think that Stelarc's uses of technology on himself are very unnecessary. We are all imperfect, as you state and must accept it. However, i think that even if we are imperfect, we can strive for perfection with the use of modern technologies that improve our intellect. if we use the vast resources provided by technology, we are able to conduct our lives in a manner that is conducive to a wonderful life.