Author: Katie H.

The Future of Human Augmentation

Katie H.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
“ARTIFICIAL ORGAN BIO-ATELIER” BY HAMACHI! IS LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

What will human augmentation look like in this lifetime? I think human augmentation will develop significantly in this lifetime, but not as significantly as typically seen in cyberpunk media. I think human augmentation will evolve to a point where humans can improve their health and maybe increase the abilities of senses, but I do not see more improvement past that extent in my lifetime. I think more and safer synthetic organs will be created. I think human augmentation will focus on human health and human lifespan in my lifetime. I can also see some human augmentations focusing on increasing the abilities of the senses. I hope to see these augmentations available to all and not just the wealthy.

I would be open to trying necessary human augmentations, but I think I would wait for others to try it first to see what happens and to get their reviews. If I was sick and needed an organ, I would be open to getting a synthetic organ. I think I would also be open to increasing the strength of my senses through augmentations. Specifically, increasing the strength of my sense of smell, hearing, and sight could be beneficial. There are some tools available to help improve these senses, but I think a permanent augmentation will be more useful.

Any human augmentation that alters physical features in a significant way is an augmentation I would consider unacceptable. I know plastic surgery allows for altering physical features, but I am talking about altering or changing physical features to a point where one is basically someone else’s clone physically. I think this has many dangerous consequences and seems unethical so I believe this augmentation is unacceptable. For example, people who want to commit crimes or break laws could alter their physical features so they would not be caught. While I think altering physical features can benefit some people mentally, I think the potential negative consequences outweigh the positive. I also think augmentations should have a limit of some kind. I do not think augmenting humans to be super strong or super fast to the point where the negative consequences outweigh the positive is beneficial. Some sort of limit should be placed on augmentations until everyone has equal access to augmentations.

Corporation Takeover?

Katie H.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
“DAILY DOSE” BY VEO_ IS LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

There are many corporations in today’s world. Apple, Coca-Cola, and H-E-B are all examples of corporations. Are these corporations heading in the direction predicted by cyberpunk narratives? I would say the answer is yes. Let’s take the pill funders from Machinehood for example. These pill funders fund pills that people take every day. The pill funders claim these pills are necessary to take every day in order for humans to stand a chance against advanced technology. These pills are personalized to fit everyone’s needs. I think it is possible for corporations in today’s world to be heading in this direction. There are still many people in today’s world who are afraid of artificial intelligence. I think it would be likely that people would feel the need to take the daily pills to compete with artificial intelligence, especially since many still fear it. There are already millions of Americans who take daily vitamins. If corporations push the concept of daily pills as a way to take care of one’s health and combat against artificial intelligence, I think many people will go for it. Especially, if it becomes necessary like it is in Machinehood. In an advanced technological society, a direction we moving in, daily pills become a sort of necessity. Humans feel the need to be the best at everything, so it is likely they will take pills to surpass typical human capabilities in order to compete with artificial intelligence. There are already some similarities between this society and Machinehood’s society. For example, people in Machinehood have personal artificial intelligence, or agents, tell them about their personal health. While we do not have personal artificial intelligence telling us about our personal health, we do have things like apple watches, fitbits, or oura rings. All of these tell us different things about our personal health like the personal artificial intelligence do in Machinehood. I think the cyberpunk narrative from Machinehood is a realistic prediction of our future.

References:

Divya, S. B. (2022). Machinehood. Saga Press.

The Hybridization of Human and Animal

Katie H.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
“PAPAGEITAUCHER FRATERCULA ARCTICA 02” BY RICHARD BARTZ IS LICENSED UNDER CC BY-SA 3.0.

If humans were able to be hybridized with one animal, what animal would you choose and why? I would choose a puffin. I thought about this question quite a bit and considered more common animals like tigers, eagles, whales, and starfish. However, I think puffins would be my top choice. Puffins can fly, swim, and walk on land efficiently. Humans can also swim and walk on land, but puffins can fly and may have a better swimming ability. Puffins are able to dive as deep as 200 feet underwater with their webbed feet, can hold their breaths for about 1 minute, and their feathers are waterproof (Henderson, 2021; Puffin FAQs, 2015). Puffins are able to fly up to about ~40-50 mph and up to 30 feet (Henderson, 2021; Puffin FAQs, 2015).

THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED USING CHATGPT ON 22 OCT 2024. https://chatgpt.com/share/6717bf4b-db64-800c-b658-2d6306023101

How far should the hybridization between you and your chosen animal to go, and how much humanity are you willing to sacrifice? I do not think there is an easy answer to this question. It would be nice if the hybridization only extended to the point that humans are able to obtain the puffin’s abilities to swim and fly. I would still want to look human but with the ability to fly and swim. Ultimately, I think I will have to sacrifice typical human features in order to obtain the puffin’s ability to swim and fly. I think the hybrid would look somewhat similar to the image on the left (minus the beak on the right side of the face). I do not think much humanity should be sacrificed in this hybridization. Since puffins have a shorter life span, only about ~20 years, I do think humans would have to sacrifice some years of their typical lifespan (Henderson, 2021). More puffin than humanity would be lost in this hybridization. The size and most of the typical physical features of puffins are lost. I also think the diet and lifestyle of this hybridization should lean more towards humanity rather than puffin.

References:

Henderson, J. (2021, April 16). Puffin Facts & Information Guide – Aurora Expeditions. Aurora Expeditions. https://www.aurora-expeditions.com/blog/puffin-information-guide/

Puffin FAQs. (2015, November 19). Hog Island Audubon Camp. https://hogisland.audubon.org/puffin-faqs-0

Moving Past Restricting Norms to a Post-gender World

Katie H.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Restricted Identity vs Fluid Identity (Katz-Wise, 2020)

Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” depicts a world that moves past limiting dualisms to a world that is post-gender. In this post-gender world, identity is fluid rather than restricted. Several of Haraway’s ideas can be seen in Janelle Monae’s album Dirty Computer.

Track 14, “Americans,” in Dirty Computer is a call for a post-gender world that is more just, more equitable, and where identity is fluid. The song touches on race, gender, and sexuality. It depicts a wish to move past traditional norms for a more just society where identity is fluid and not restricted to categorical norms. Some lyrics from the album include “I like my woman in the kitchen,” “A pretty young thang, she can wash my clothes / But she’ll never ever wear my pants,” “You see my color before my vision / Sometimes I wonder if you were blind / Would it help you make a better decision,” “Until same-gender loving people can be who they are / This is not my America,” and “Until black people can come home from a police stop without being shot in the head / This is not my America” (Monae, 2018). In the song “Americans,” Monae discusses the male/female dualism and the gender norms that come with it among other norms like race and sexuality. Females are expected to cook and clean, while men get to “wear the pants” in the relationship. Both Haraway and Monae want to move past these traditional norms to a more equitable society where identity can be fluid and is not forced to be confined to rigid traditional structures.

Track 10, “I Like That,” in Dirty Computer depicts an individual embracing a fluid identity and breaking away from traditional norms, which aligns with Haraway’s vision for a post-gender world where fluid identity thrives breaking past restricting society. Lyrics include “I’m always left of center and that’s right where I belong / I’m the random minor note you hear in major songs” “I don’t really give a **** if I was just the only one,” and “I never like to follow, follow all around” (Monae, 2018). Monae’s lyrics in “I Like That” depicts someone moving away from traditional norms instead of following them. Both Haraway and Monae picture a world where identity is fluid instead of being restricted to traditional norms, which leads to a more equitable and fair world.

References:

Katz-Wise, S. L. (2020, December 3). Gender fluidity: What it means and why support matters. Harvard Health Blog; Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gender-fluidity-what-it-means-and-why-support-matters-2020120321544

Monae, J. (2018). Dirty Computer [Album]. Wondaland; Bad Boy; Atlantic.

What does it mean to be Human?

Katie H.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Replicants from the film Blade Runner (Blade Runner – Film Review, 2016)

What does it mean to be human? Both the film Blade Runner and the novel Neuromancer question what it means to be human. In the film Blade Runner, this question is explored through replicants. Replicants are bioengineered individuals, not human but almost indistinguishable from humans. The replicants in the film blended in with humans well, only a select few were able to distinguish them from humans due to the emotions test or being part of the creation team of the replicants. An emotions test was necessary to distinguish replicants from humans. Do emotions define what it means to be human? Most replicants are unable to pass this test but Rachel, an experimental replicant, lasts a lot longer than the rest of the replicants when taking this test. Rachel is a replicant with false memories programed into her. At the beginning of the film, Rachel did not know that she is a replicant. She had trouble coming to terms with the fact that she is a replicant after not being able to pass the emotions test in the end. Do memories define what it means to be human? Rachel thought she was human because of her false memories, and she lasted longer during the emotions test because of them. The replicants had the ability to create their own memories after creation like humans create memories after birth. In the film, Deckard was assigned to get rid of replicants because they were considered dangerous. Does a drive for survival define what it means to be human? The humans wanted replicants gone because the humans wanted to live, but replicants also had a drive for survival. At the end of the film, Rachel is the only replicant introduced that survived. The question of what it means to be human still remains.

The novel Neuromancer by William Gibson also questions what it means to be human but in a different way from the film. In the novel, humans and technology are so interconnected that it raises the question of what it means to be human. Let’s take Molly and Dixie Flatline for example. Molly is human with technological modifications. Is Molly still human with her technological modifications that not all humans have? Another character, Dixie Flatline, also raises questions of what it means to be human. Dixie Flatline is an artificial intelligence construct of McCoy Pauley. McCoy Pauley’s human body has died, but his mind, memories, and personality still exists within the cyberspace. Dixie helps another character, Case, throughout his mission within cyberspace, but continuously asks to be erased once the mission is complete. Although McCoy Pauley is dead, Dixie Flatline lived on for the majority of the novel. Is Dixie Flatline really McCoy Pauley? Is McCoy Pauley still living on through Dixie Flatline? Since Dixie Flatline was McCoy Pauley, is Dixie Flatline considered human even though he only has a digital form left? Dixie and Case formed a close relationship while working together. Does friendship define what it means to be human? Neuromancer leaves readers with something to think about. What does it mean to be human?

References:

Blade Runner – Film Review. (2016, June 4). Yggdrasille.com; WordPress.com. https://yggdrasille.com/2016/06/04/blade-runner/

Gibson, W. (1984). Neuromancer. Ace.

Scott, R. (Director). (1982). Blade Runner [Film]. Warner Bros.

Blurred Lines Between Work and Personal Time

Katie H.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Employee working remotely. (My Digital Work, n.d.)

In past years, there were distinct lines between work and personal time. Work time was considered paid time spent working, while personal time was the unpaid time spent not working. With the advancement of technology, work time has begun to mix with personal time. Employees would take off or be given personal days for sick days, personal emergencies, buildings not being able to be occupied, or natural disasters. Now, employees are expected to work remotely when they used to get a personal day or get time off (Utomi, 2023). Advancement of technology has blurred the lines between work and personal time in another way. For most careers, there is a set time to work and during that time employees are paid. Most work would be saved for the next work day if it was not done. Now if employees do not complete their work during work hours, then employees are expected to take their work home to complete it during their personal time without being paid for this extra time. With this advancement of technology, people do not have to meet in person to work. People can work remotely from across the world with others if they would like. The problem with this is time zone differences. People may have to work during their personal time in order to meet with others remotely. There has been a shift from working only during work hours to working during personal time due to the advancement of technology. (Side note: Some careers do not have distinct lines between work and personal time, but in recent years the shift I discussed above has been applied to careers that can have distinct lines between work and personal time.)

I think the COVID-19 pandemic has played a role in the blurring of lines between work and personal time. Throughout 2020 many jobs had to be completed remotely. Once employers and employees realized remote work is possible and can be done, the shift began. Now more than ever work is being completed remotely during personal time.

References:

Gaskell, A. (2020, May 11). Is A Blurred Work-Life Balance The New Normal? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2020/05/11/is-a-blurred-work-life-balance-the-new-normal/

My Digital Work. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://mydigitalwork.com/overnight-remote-jobs/. 

Utomi, T. (2023, August 21). Has remote work killed the sick day?. HRPA. https://www.hrpa.ca/hr-insights/has-remote-work-killed-the-sick-day/