Author: Maliyah A.

Human Augmentation

Maliyah A.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Human augmentation is a rapidly dancing field. Drawing from current trends in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience, here are my thoughts on how human augmentation might evolve and what possibilities and dilemmas it could present.

There are multiple profound innovations that human augmentation will progress in. The first one is implantable devices. I feel like that they will create chips that could be used for identification and payment. This chip could be placed in the arm or hand. There was talk about this happening so I wonder if they will make it. 

The second device is physical enhancements. Physical enhancements are like Exoskeletons and advanced prosthetics. These devices help people that are in need of it but there is a blur line.The blur line is between medical necessity and elective augmentation. Athletes, for example, may use such technologies to push physical limits.

 

The three device is neuroenhancement. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) like Neuralink are already being tested. In the future, we may see widespread adoption of devices that enhance cognitive abilities, allowing humans to process information faster, improve memory, or even communicate telepathically.

I would be open to augmentations that enhance quality of life without compromising autonomy or ethical boundaries. Health-focused genetic modifications to reduce risks of inherited diseases. This will help people to get better and prevent a lot of diseases. Sensory enhancements like improved vision or hearing. This will help people to be able to gain things that they lost. It will do more good than harm. Cognitive tools to boost memory or creativity, provided they are reversible or minimally invasive. Augmentations that encroach on personal identity or exploit vulnerable populations would be unacceptable. Enhancements designed for social or economic advantage, exacerbating inequalities. This will only be beneficial for people that have money. I believe that that is unfair. Technologies with surveillance capabilities that threaten privacy or freedom. I believe that people should have their freedom and having technology that supervises people is not ethical. Augmentations that fundamentally alter human nature, such as programming emotional responses or behavior. I believe that you shouldn’t mess with people, emotions or behavior I think people should have their own behavior or control their own behavior. 

I see the Future

Maliyah A.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

One boundary that has significantly shifted in the past five years is the distinction between human and machine intelligence, particularly as AI technologies like ChatGPT and DALL-E blur the line between human creativity and machine-generated content. This shift challenges our long-held assumptions about what constitutes uniquely human traits, such as originality, emotional depth, and problem-solving capabilities.

In fields like art, writing, and even decision-making, AI systems are now capable of producing outputs that rival, and sometimes surpass, those of humans. This could cause people to lose their jobs. In the realm of decision-making, AI systems are increasingly involved in areas like hiring, financial forecasting, and even judicial sentencing. These developments raise questions about the human role in creative and cognitive domains, challenging traditional boundaries.

The accessibility of AI tools are more accessible and user friendly. This allows individuals and organizations to integrate them into their workflows.  AI’s in daily life are used more often in today’s world. There is chatbots that can have personalized recommendations and options. Today the world also normalized interactions with machine intelligence, making it less “other” and more integrated into human society. AI systems can now learn and generate outputs at unprecedented scales and complexity due to advances in machine learning and neural networks. Image generators, for example, produce art that mimics various artistic styles, such as human conversational styles.

While these changes offer exciting possibilities, they also prompt philosophical and ethical questions: If machines can mimic human creativity, how do we redefine the value of human contributions? How do we ensure AI’s integration serves society equitably and responsibly? The erosion of the boundary between human and machine intelligence presents not just a technological challenge but a profound rethinking of human identity.

Cyberpunk narratives

Maliyah A.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In Blade Runner epitomizes unrestrained corporate ambition. Its motto, “More human than human,” speaks to Tyrell’s mission to outdo nature by creating replicants that serve humanity’s purposes. However, Tyrell’s quest for perfection also leads to deep ethical and social costs, as replicants become disposable labor, their humanity disregarded. This pursuit of technological prowess at the expense of ethical considerations feels uncomfortably close to contemporary tech giants’ race to out-innovate each other without fully addressing societal impacts. Companies like OpenAI and Google, for instance, push AI development forward with limited transparency on the implications for jobs, privacy, and security. This parallels Tyrell’s disregard for the consequences of unleashing powerful technology on the world, suggesting that this corporate trajectory may indeed resemble our present. In Neuromancer represent the fusion of wealth, technological power, and family dynasty, a chillingly exclusive corporate structure insulated from regulation and societal norms. Their influence over the virtual world echoes concerns about the modern consolidation of digital power, as seen with Meta and Amazon, whose control over massive amounts of data, market dominance, and lobbying power edge out smaller entities and set their own standards, often evading accountability. By gaining control over essential resources and infrastructure, these corporations exercise powers that were traditionally in the domain of governments. In Machinehood, the “pill funders” represent a collective of influential pharmaceutical corporations, commodifying health through performance-enhancing pills that allow users to compete in a high-speed, gig-based economy. Here, corporations play a direct role in shaping how people live and work, a scenario that echoes contemporary issues in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Today, companies like Moderna and Pfizer hold significant power over public health due to their control over essential medical resources, affecting lives globally. These companies’ decisions can drive prices and accessibility, sparking similar ethical concerns about profit-driven motives that prioritize wealth over the collective good. While cyberpunk often veers toward dystopian hyperbole, many of its predictions align with the paths corporate power could take, especially with ongoing trends of privatization, unchecked innovation, and limited regulatory oversight. These narratives caution us against the consolidation of power without accountability, revealing potential consequences of prioritizing profit over societal welfare. Cyberpunk may exaggerate, but its underlying message resonates powerfully as a warning about corporate influence that feels, if not inevitable, disturbingly possible.

Hybridization 

Maliyah A.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

If I had the opportunity to hybridize with another animal, I would choose the dolphin. Dolphins are known for their high intelligence, social bonds, and acute sensory abilities, especially echolocation. These traits make dolphins a great candidate for hybridization because they could enhance human cognition, empathy, and spatial awareness.  Dolphins also have an intrinsic sense.

 

I would like to adopt the enhancements of the dolphin’s echolocation ability, underwater agility, emotional empathy and social bonding. I choose echolocation because I am terrible at navigating. This trait will help me a lot. Echolocation also will help with communication and transformative sensory enhancement. Having the ability to perceive objects around me through sound waves would be helpful. As well as improving our sense of spatial awareness in dark or foggy conditions, it might also improve our ability to perceive textures and shapes without being in direct contact with them. I could gain an extraordinary way to interact with the physical world, especially in situations where sight or touch is limited.

The only physical trait that I would adapt from dolphins is improvement of lung capacity and streamlined movement. This will allow me to extend exploration of the ocean. This would be helpful because I can explore that marine environment, and it could reveal new ecosystems. I don’t want any gills or dolphin tails. That would make my life difficult socially and physically. 

The psychological adaptation dolphins I would choose is emotional empathy and social bonding. Dolphins are a very social animal and are also very emotional connection and empathy. This would help me a lot because I am not a very social person. I also feel like I lack a lot of emotional connection with other people. As a result of this increased sense of empathy and social intuition, humans may also be able to interact more compassionately and understand each other better.

I would however object to any adaptation that alters my human cognition significantly. Despite its unique intelligence, dolphins are also uniquely adapted to their aquatic environment. So, I would like to be able to retain my human thought patterns and cultural understanding. I do not want to give up everything because I still want to be human.

Cyborg Manifesto and Dirty Computer

Maliyah A.
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Identity

Monáe’s album Dirty Compute and Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” share a common theme of identity. In Cyborg Manifesto Haraway did not have a firm stand of identity. Harraway allowed no restriction between the categories such as gender, race, or species. In the Monáe’s album there was also no restriction too. Monáe’s had a dystopian world where the lines were blurred between gender, race, and species. Monáe’s had express this in her songs PYNK and Make Me Feel.

Community

In Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” community was a big aspect in the book. Haraway talks about how building a community was important because it could be used to challenged power structures. The community becomes really important especially within the marginalized groups. Monáe’s album Dirty Compute talks about the important of community too. In the songs I Like That and Americans she talks about how communities should embrace unique identity. She also mentions in the songs that the community should fight against systemic oppression. In Monáe’s album Dirty Compute she talks more about celebrating and embracing the different communities.

The Digital Divide: What It Means to Be Human in Blade Runner and Neuromancer

Maliyah A.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Blade Runner what it means to be human through its depiction of replicants, while Neuromancer explores similar themes through its characters’ interactions with artificial intelligences and cyberspace.

This statement is what we are going to explore throughout this blog. Although Blade Runner and Neuromancer take different narrative approaches, both challenge conventional notions of consciousness, identity, and humanity. In Blade Runner, the replicants were designed to serve humanity. The main replicants in the movie were Roy Batty and Rachel. The replicants had physical human appearance, but they were denied basic human rights and emotions because they were just machines. The replicants had development traits that were similar to humans. Roy was able to feel fear, desires, and longing. The replicants were programmed not to have these traits, but Roy had them. Roy expresses these emotions during the ending of the movie. He talks about his past moments and past memories. Which shows a bit concerning because it shows how the replicants and humans are very similar. The question arises: how different are the replicants and humans? The line between human and replicant blurs. Which leads to another important question: what constitutes being human: our biological makeup or the ability to feel and connect with others? 


In Neuromancer, artificial intelligences and cyberspace are used to explore human identity and consciousness. The lead case is a hacker, and he interacts and navigates cyberspace. In that world, there were no boundaries between humans and replicants. Because Case is dependent on cyberspace, his consciousness appears to be his most essential characteristic, as his physical body is secondary to his digital presence. To become human, AI Wintermute wants to merge with its counterpart. Wintermute shows throughout the novel that he wants to become more human than artificial intelligence. Wintermute’s desire for freedom, happiness, and emotion is very similar to the replicas in Blade Runner. But in Neuromancer, this desire plays out in a realm where human and machine identities are increasingly intertwined. Although Blade Runner and Neuromancer take different narrative approaches, both challenge conventional notions of consciousness, identity, and humanity.