Author: Elaina R.

When is it enough?

Elaina R.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In my lifetime, I feel like things such as Human Augmentation will go very far. I don’t know how far but from what I even grew up with from 15 years ago to today and what we have such as generative Ai that is used all the time, I can see it going a lot of places. In today’s world, we are already starting to advance and from things such as futuristic movies and other pieces of media, there are ideas that people already have saved and are in the process of making. One simple way is how intricate prosthetics can get because I never knew how expensive certain parts could cost and how one could even afford them until I researched it. In that if we have intricate pieces such as really robotic arms then soon we can already see things such as robotic eyes and more be made soon in the future. I can see things or parts like eyes being made because those are parts that usually people can’t use anymore so I’d think that would be the first step. In my mind, something like one of the Black Mirror episodes where they could watch back memories would be something in the far future. For myself, I don’t think I would go that far especially since I would be so much older and I think that would just be too much for someone my age at that point. I may want to try some augmentations but theres a certain limit and difference from help and from doing more than what is needed for human survival and even enjoyment. For some, it is just have the possession or being able to say they have something that others don’t but I don’t think I’d be like that at all. There are also some augmentations that may be too much such as ones that may be able to mess with someone else instead of helping the person who’s getting it such as using an augmentation that could change appearance.

sources:

Eden J, Bräcklein M, Ibáñez J, Barsakcioglu DY, Di Pino G, Farina D, Burdet E, Mehring C. Principles of human movement augmentation and the challenges in making it a reality. Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 15;13(1):1345. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28725-7. PMID: 35292665; PMCID: PMC8924218.

De Boeck, M., & Vaes, K. (2024). Human augmentation and its new design perspectives. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, 12(1), 61–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2023.2288125

Yoon, Y., Cho, IJ. A review of human augmentation and individual combat capability: focusing on MEMS-based neurotechnology. Micro and Nano Syst Lett 12, 17 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40486-024-00205-1

Do they truly care?

Elaina R.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Personally, I do believe that corporations are heading this way, especially with the ruling of the Election night on Tuesday. Many corporations during our current time and even in the past have taken advantage of the people that they should be helping and serving, such as companies like Monsanto. While corporations in the Cyberpunk world are way more advanced and futuristic, the things that they want to accomplish are not too far off. I think a lot of what happens in the Cyberpunk world is somewhat dramatized, but it shows how far these companies will go regardless of the people that are harmed in the process or on purpose.

In Blade Runner, we see that the founder and CEO Tyrell was definitely okay with creating life and giving it to the Replicants even when they were basically told that their life was not theirs. Along with that, his assistant was a new version of Replicant who thought she was human and had human memories. Watching her lose confidence in herself when realizing she wasn’t real yet Tyrell had no compassion showed how ruthless companies and corporations can be. While watching the movie, I also saw that the Tyrell Corporation thought that putting a timer on their life knowing that they may become sentient and their own beings who just want to live was very disturbing.

In our real world, I believe that Monsanto, which I mentioned earlier, was a company that had no true care for people and changed the way of life. When learning about Monsanto, the one big thing that always stood out to me was the fact that Monsanto had a hand in Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a tactical herbicide used in the war by the U.S against other countries that caused people many health affects such as cancer like Leukemia. Monsanto had a hand in manufacturing it which once again shows how companies do not care for people. 

Sources: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/agent-orange-background-on-monsantos-involvement/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236351

    Mix and Match….. the Prey and Predator?

    Elaina R.
    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    For me, one animal that I think would be cool to become a hybrid would be a Chinchilla. It’s very random but I’ve always liked Chinchillas and how they are different from other rodents such as the way they bathe. Their fur doesn’t do well with water and can grow mold or fungal infections so they instead take dust baths in order to clean themselves. That feature really stands out to me and I wanted to cross it with a feline such as maybe a house cat or even a big cat such as a Tiger. The Chinchiger or CatChilla would probably have to be a desert animal in order to find that much dust or if it were a wild animal. Another thing is that I already find both animals cute so why not fuse them to be something very different from everything else starting and even how it’s fur would interact with the environment.The hybrid could also get some camouflage from the Chinchilla side if it’s a specific shade of fur because they come in a few different shades such as grey, black, and white. During the night in the desert, the fur would definitely keep the hybrid warm and then help them blend in to hunt or to be able to move stealthy during the night. This could also help if the hybrid takes more of a prey mentality due to the Chinchilla genes but we wouldn’t know unless we truly fuse the two.

    Overall, I don’t think that I truly need this hybrid to become a real thing because it’s more of an “on the fly” idea rather than something that I feel like needs to be made. The two animals that I picked have a conflicting mentality and lifestyle so fusing the two may cause the hybrid more confusion than help because they may have a hard time truly settling into their instincts if they have to choose from a predator and prey. Personally, I can’t see myself selling my humanity and going to far for something that in theory wouldn’t be the best anyway. While animals are used for experiments, they should not be toyed with and carelessly thrown away so if I were to make this hybrid real, I would have to deal with whatever consequences there are in the future.

    some links to some sources I looked at

    No Matter the Cost, No Matter the Loss

    Elaina R.
    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    The future of technology in media and writing such as Blade Runner and Neuromancer has shown that powerful corporations and companies that disregard morality and focus on technology may be in our future. As we look into fields and technology such as Artificial wombs or Clone technology, how much could we trust the companies who create and use this technology on humans? In the 2nd prompt provided, I support that with technology being made and started by these companies, we may lose out on our freedom and identity in order to use this technology. If we were able to use clone technology in the future in order to maybe replace one’s limb or for possible other uses, doesn’t it sound immoral in the sense that there’s another one of a person out there being harvested along with what happens to the clone after? Would the person getting the procedure have to sign a binding contract such as an NDA or would there be more included in a contract such as that? In that I believe that many corporations would not only make this technology expensive but also private so that they can make as much money as they can along with making it so that they can monopolize a product that many would want to take part in. In Blade Runner, we see that the technology that Tyrell made with the Replicants was only made by his company which shows how he monopolized the market regardless of how moral or immoral his work was at the end of the day. Although much of his work wasn’t moral, many people bought into it because they say more benefits rather than losses and they allowed certain freedoms go but in that, some identity was lost because people iddn’t have to do as much as they needed to anymore because they had replicants to do it for them which showed how far it can go.

    quick references:

    clone tech : Nabavizadeh SL, Mehrabani D, Vahedi Z, Manafi F. Cloning: A Review on Bioethics, Legal, Jurisprudence and Regenerative Issues in Iran. World J Plast Surg. 2016 Sep;5(3):213-225. PMID: 27853684; PMCID: PMC5109382.

    artificial wombs: Romanis EC. Artificial womb technology and clinical translation: Innovative treatment or medical research? Bioethics. 2020 May;34(4):392-402. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12701. Epub 2019 Nov 29. PMID: 31782820; PMCID: PMC7216961.

    Without Borders or Boundaries

    Elaina R.
    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    In Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto”, many of the concepts that are major issues and factors today are not as important and even transcended. When thinking about gender and biology, the idea of a cyborg goes past those forms and surpasses gender as a whole. Things like race and species become blurred and identity becomes a fluid concept. In that way, Haraway uses Cyborgization as a way to overlook these categories and to focus on technology and the changes that the world would experience rather than staying conformed to gender, sexuality, and etc.

    In Monae’s album “Dirty Computer”, Monae also explores what Haraway does in her manifesto but in the way that those who do not conform to the norm are abnormal such as if a device was malfunctioning and needs to be corrected. Many of the songs on her album challenge the norms that we are stuck in due to things such as sexuality, gender expression and more not fitting within those context. It also focuses on identity and how complex one is rather than just being there biological gender and race but also the implications that that has within the system.

    Overall, both works share a similar passion in the way that they both want to defy the standards set within the context that we are held in today. As a cyborg, things like gender and race are not the focus and there’s more than just what categories one fits in. Then also that being different that what is normal to people is not a crime and that expressing oneself and being different is okay rather than being seen as in the wrong. In both works, both Haraway and Monae envision a world where people can transcend being held back and to truly be free to be without borders and boundaries.

    My Body Is Not Mine – Women’s Reproductive Rights

    Elaina R.
    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    For this topic, the shifting boundary that I’d like to focus on is the change in Women’s reproductive rights and health. As we’ve seen in the past, we know that this country has not been very open or accepting of Women’s productive health and has kept very conservative views. In the 70’s, the case of Roe V. Wade allowed women to have abortions which was one way that women had control of their health and wellness. Recently in 2022, the case was overturned which not only didn’t allow women to have abortions but also made it illegal for women to get them and for doctors to administer them in specific states. Many women, girls, and doctors have been persecuted by the legal system just for exercising or helping achieve a right that was taken away. This shifting boundary is also very problematic in the sense that women are restricted even if they are trying to have abortions for specifc reasons such as having miscarriages but still having to carry them to term, the child not being able to survive, even cases of r*pe or sexual assault, etc.

    To me, I believe what has prompted this change is that not only are people in power trying to make the country go back to a conservative construct but also to control the people in as many ways as they can. Certain ideals and issues have been brought up that only prove that certain people want to country to de-evolve rather than evolve from where we are now. How are women losing their reproductive rights almost 50 years later if we are an ever-changing country that literally preaches doing better for its own people? Concepts such as Project 2025 show that the people of this country are not valued and are seen less as people and more as subjects who are supposed to obey every backward law and rule.

    references for more information: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/24/1226161416/rape-caused-pregnancy-abortion-ban-states