WHEN HUMANS MERGE WITH TECHNOLOGY

Cyborgs stopped being like something out of a science fiction film a long time ago and are now part of reality. But where does this desire to transform oneself into a being with expanded or enhanced abilities come from? What criteria does a person have to meet to be considered a cyborg? There is no single answer to these questions. Sociologist Dierk Spreen, who is in charge of the Helmholtz Association’s Earth System Knowledge Platform (www.eskp.de) at the department of “Earth and Environment”, prefers to ask whether we’re not already well on our way to becoming a human-machine system. To him, the transformation begins there at the point where technologies are brought into a close relationship with our bodies with a view to optimising the latter: in doing so, these technologies expand our natural abilities, making us more beautiful or attractive. The characteristic feature of the transformation, so far as Spreen is concerned, is that the technologies are not just brought to bear for purely medical reasons. The ability to heal is not all that’s required; the name of the game is self-optimisation.

FROM SMARTPHONE TO NEURO-IMPLANT

The transformation has already begun when the smart phone becomes an integral part of our lives. It expands our communication possibilities. On top of that, we use it as a permanent interface with the global networks of stored knowledge. And many of us feel insecure when we accidentally leave our mobile phone at home. However, in the case of smart phones, the technology remains outside the body, and the latter is itself still “low-tech”. By contrast, so-called exoskeletons, which are used, for instance, to support production workers in the assembly of heavy components, already mark a closer connection between the human body and technology. Spreen says: “In the high-tech version, this connection is even more profound. For example, technological extensions give us new sensory possibilities that human beings do not biologically possess – for example, as in the case of Neil Harbisson.” In the future, artificial ears could enable us to hear ultrasound; and implanted optical detectors could perhaps detect infra-red radiation, while neuro-implants might enhance our memories. Spreen regards developments such as these as the potential results of an already existing “upgrade culture” that lets us strive for optimisation – and, ultimately, for a better version of ourselves.

BECOMING FIT FOR SPACE THROUGH IMPLANTS

The term “cyborg” first appeared in 1960. In an article in the journal Astronautics, scientists Nathan S. Kline and Manfred Clynes created the acronym from the term “cybernetic organism”. Their idea was to make the human body fit for life in space by means of implants or other technologies. For example, by replacing the lung with an artificial system. Oxygen would then no longer be necessary to survive in space. However, the desire to optimise oneself, to be able to do more than the body can naturally do, is not just a phenomenon of the past century. “People have always tried to expand their capabilities. The use of modern technologies such as artificial eyes or brain implants is only one step further in this process,” says Spreen. “Things become difficult, however, when self-optimisation becomes the social norm and a source of coercion. If you don’t participate, you’re out. You’re an outsider.” That’s why we must critically examine philosophies that exaggerate the transformation of humans into artificial beings, such as the concept of transhumanism.

THE MOST DANGEROUS IDEA IN THE WORLD?

The well-known US political scientist Francis Fukuyama goes so far as to consider transhumanism – the approach of extending the limits of human beings with the help of technology – to be “the most dangerous idea in the world”. He also warns against a division in society. “If we begin to transform ourselves into something higher, what rights will these improved creatures then claim for themselves, and what rights will they have compared to those who fall by the wayside?” Taking into account people in the poorer parts of the world who will not be able to afford such technological wonders, Fukuyama says “the idea of equality becomes even more endangered”. [1]

The proponents of the transhumanism movement, on the other hand, regard the transhuman future as a world in which people could reinvent themselves and live their dreams of a different life. Technology pioneers from Silicon Valley, bloggers, artists or activists are therefore fighting for the right to enhance their own bodies technologically. The movement’s best-known forward thinker is the American Ray Kurzweil, Google’s Director of Engineering and a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence. For him, cyborgs are the first step towards a new evolutionary stage of humankind. By around 2030, Kurzweil expects non-biological intelligence to have reached the scope and subtlety of human intelligence, and intelligent nano-robots to have become integral parts of our bodies and brains. A development which, according to Kurzweil, should lead to a considerably extended life span, as well as to a perfect virtual reality, which, like in the film “Matrix”, involves all senses. [2]

A DEBATE ON OUR FUTURE

In view of a possible future such as the one envisioned by transhumanists, scientists are demanding that the opportunities and risks of a society in which human and machine are increasingly merging be considered and discussed. “We mustn’t let technology developers with economic interests dictate how we should live, but must ourselves choose the path we want to take,” says Stefan Selke, professor of sociology and societal transformation at Furtwangen University. What could be useful here is an alliance of ethicists, philosophers, scientists and societal players, who together discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this development with the cyborgs themselves. “Because these people have the courage to cross boundaries. And the future only emerges there where conformism stops.” Berlin-based Enno Park, who wears two electronic hearing prostheses, so-called cochlear implants, and calls himself a cyborg, also finds the idea of a joint discourse useful, although he is of the view that “each of us should be allowed to decide for ourselves what to do with our bodies – so long as we don’t harm anyone else in the process.”

SOURCES

[1] https://www.abp.de/showroom/featurepreis/der-cyborg-moment.html

[2] https://www.abp.de/showroom/featurepreis/der-cyborg-moment.html