Issues of the body; Cyborgs and artificial life.

What does it mean for us to be networked?

If you ask someone what a cyborg is, the usual answer that is given is someone who has a human head and armored body; giving a distasteful look on humans. 

“With the telephone, there occurs the extension of ear and voice that is a kind of extra sensory perception. With the television came the extension of the sense of touch or of sense interplay that even more intimately involves the entire sensorium”

p. 265-266

Marshall McLuhan, Understand Media - The extensions of man.

Notions of life: Vitalism

'Life is seen as having unique, and sacred properties that are not possessed by an inanimate object.'

Materialism

'A scientific tradition that regards life as having the same physical and chemical qualities as inanimate objects; eg DNA.'

Informationalism

'Cybernetics built on the materialistic view of life, and introduced some informationalist ideas to understand the nature of life. Living forms are capable of growing and repairing their structures.' Life can also create new life. 

Some informationalist perspectives on cyber-culture:

- Cybernetics

- Cyborgs

- ALife

- Artificial Intelligence 

Norbert Weiner in the 1940/50's came up with the cybernetic idea. This then developed into the term Cyborg (cybernetic organism). 

“The figure of the cyborg encapsulates many contemporary anxieties about the encounter of the natural and the artificial and the idea that there are no clear divisions between the non-human and the human, the technological and the biological, the original and the copy.”

Dani Cavallario Cyberpunk & Cyberculture p. 44

The cyborg is said to be a creature of myth and social reality whilst embodying cultural fears and anxieties. There are many different examples of fictional cyborgs. These include: Cybermen from Dr Who, Captain America and Wolverine from X-Men. 

This fictional idea of cyborgs have now been used by surgeons and biologists in recent years. They worked with the notion that 'body parts are replaceable.' This creates a pragmatic sense of realism, that infact spares of the human body can be made.

“anyone with an artificial organ, limb or supplement (like a pace-maker), anyone reprogrammed to resist disease (immunized) or drugged to think/behave/feel better (pyschopharmacology) is technically a cyborg”

Dani Cavallario Cyberpunk & Cyberculture p. 46

For example hand transplants, cochlear implants and artificial hearts have all been used in recent years. 

So who controls the body?

Kevin Warick actually plugged the internet into his arm. He had an artificial arm in one place, and by moving his arm, the other hand would do what his hand did. The scary part is, if the artificial hand was moved by someone, Warick's hand would do the same thing!

As all this was going on, Steven Levy wrote a book on Artificial Life. 

"Artificial life, or a-life, is devoted to the creation and study of lifelike organisms and systems built by humans. The stuff of this life is non-organic matter, and its essence is information: computers are the kilns from which these new organisms emerge. Just as medical scientists have managed to tinker with life's mechanisms in vitro, the biologists and computer scientists of a-life hope to create life in silico” 

Steven Levy

 

Levy explained that programmes self replicate and control. This then can lead to virus'. But is this just paranoia?

But when does the blending of humans and technology become morally unacceptable? 

Yes lives can be saved, but from a young age children are being subject to watching cyborgs through the media. Will this impact on generations to come?

Issues of the interface; Design and the desire for immediacy

Why have an interface?


'A means which people interact with a particular machine, device, computer programme etc.'


User interface provides:
- A means of input allowing users to manipulate the system.
- A means of output allowing the system to demonstrate the effects of the users manipulation. 


Interface allows immediacy and it is ultimately easier to use. It started off as wires being plugged into different sockets, then the development of punched tape eased the way for graphical interface. This then resulted in a command line being developed and it is the basic way to create html in the current day and age. 


Early interfaces were invented in the 60's. Ivan Sutherland invented early models of the sketch pad. Doug Englebert invented the mouse in the 1960's also, a piece of technology that is used in every computer today. 


As technology developed, so did interface. As time went on, people kept making it easier to use the computer:


- 1973 saw Zerox Alto have basic user interface
- Apple Macintosh then developed interface more in 1984
- By 1989, Microsoft Windows had the basic interface that would be in the majority of new computers.
These developments then lead on to technologies such as hand held computers (PDA's), the iPhone for example. 


As these developments in interface continued, the WIMPS model was then born , (Windows, Icons, Menus & Pointers). 
- See & Point: Users interact with the computer by pointing at objects on the screen

- Direct manipulation: Users interact directly with objects in the interface (drag & drop)

- Metaphor: The interface is based on metaphors familiar from the non-computer world around us (desktop)

- Consistency: Learning will be reduced if objects with a similar function always look & behave the same (icons)

- Forgiveness: User actions should generally be reversible. User warned if something will cause data loss (trash can)

- Perceived Stability: Elements in the computer interface should not be changed without the user’s involvement. (windows reappear as user left them)

What do you want to communicate?

Lisa Seaman, Designer for Hotwired said that these points will get the best results: 

'Don’t get too caught up with trends!

The job of design is to communicate a message.  Make sure your designs communicate that message

Hold onto it rigorously, like a bulldog to his bone! '

Barbara Kurh, creative director for Asylum said simplicity is the best way forward:

'Keep it simple

The power of good design is in its simplicity

Define the essence '

The design of interface goes back to art history: images, colour, typography, metaphors. Designers remember that colour is key as it creates mood. This then lead on to the idea of hierarchies. 

“The foundation of almost all good information architectures is a

well designed hierarchy”

Louis Rosenfeld & Peter Morvill

Interface in the 21st century is not just a list of guidelines, but a link of ideas to your audience. As interface is such a big part of technology, the gaming industry has now joined the bandwagon. This can be seen through vibration, touch pads, visual aids such as Xbox Kinect and the Wii. 

There are other interfaces that aren't just computers: oyster cards, bank cards, finger prints even. More and more technologies are becoming computer interfaces, is this a bad thing?

News and Technology

What is news? 

Mitchell Stephens once said that the news is 'new information about a subject of some public interest that is shared with some proportion of the public'. As technology develops, these pieces of news are becoming increasingly easier to read. 

The history of news dates back to when oral news was all that was known to man. Phedippedes ran over 25 miles in a single day to bring news of the Greek victory at the battle of Marathon. This was an achievement in those days, where as now if even the slightest bit of news that could gain public interest is broadcast, it can take people seconds to load it up on their iPhone 4s. 

Oral news then can be divided into different categories. For instance, gossip is peer to peer, hand written news needs transmission and using websites such as Facebook contain computer mediated gossip. 

As technology developed, it wasn't long till the internet was born. This gave news an even faster way to travel than ever before. This lead to a decline in newspaper sales as more and more people were using the internet. But can a news website still be classed as a newspaper? 

Technology transmission also impacts on what is and can be considered news; morse code, steam press transmission, transatlantic cable etc. 

Whilst the rise in popularity of internet news increased, older platforms of media had to get back in the game. Next came 24 hour news channels. Are these a positive thing? Yes if the world was under attack the public could find out at 3:42 a.m, but on the other hand, it could easily scare people by knowing that much information. 

What is news in the 21st century?

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become common among the younger generations. Many people found out that Osama Bin Laden was dead through a tweet. 'The rapid circulation of news is evidence of more than just the desire of individuals to know and tell; it is evidence of a social commitment.' A History of News (M.S) [pg 15.]

Has the internet changed the way we read/interact with and generate news?

'Perhaps the most valuable news we can receive is warning of a clear and present danger.' [pg 4.]

Thinking about Media Change

Are all new media just building on old media?


The world wide web hasn't been around for that long. It builds on the memex from 1934, and since then it has carried on developing. Once this had been developed, Ted Nelson underpinned WWW dot with hypertext in 1960. 

Old media these days is referring to news papers, books, radio whereas new media is more the internet, video games, DVD's etc. New media doesn't include feature film, magazines, television programmes and books unless they contain some form of digital interactivity. 


'In recent years the 'newness' of new media has attracted an increasing groundswell of rebellion against using the term at all' 

Sue Thomas, 2006

The 1960's showed the new buzzword 'multimedia'. This then lead to remediation (moving from one media to another). There are different types of remediation strategies:

- (Transparent) immediacy = window into reality

- Hypermediacy = applications that present multiple medias using hypertextual organisations. 

But why would there be a difference between 'old' and 'new' media? There are other ways to think about digital media. Conceptual tools needed to think about current changes in the media:

- Digitization

- Convergence

- Interactivity

-Remediation 

Digitilization makes media files: 

'Highly amendable to manipulation by a computer' 

Wise, 2000

As the technology developed, digitilization lead to the media introducing green screens & compositing, for example Jurassic Park used this.

'Digitilization inevitably involves loss of information. In contrast to analog representation, a digitally encoded representation contains a fixed amount of information' 

Lev Manovich , The language of new media (2001)

Convergence has probably had the largest impact on the media industry. Many institutions are now combining media platforms to reach a larger audience. For example, the internet on a mobile phone; it is now faster than ever to check the weather in Greece whilst on the move. 

Internet allows for

“Interconnectivity: the capacity to easily connect interactions across different networks

Interoperability: the capacity to access all forms of information and media content using different operating systems”

Flew, T. (2008) New Media: An Introduction

“We call the representation of one medium in another remediation, and we argue that remediation is a defining characteristic of the new digital media”

Bolter and Grusin, 1999

So how do all these ideas link? Do they all exist in 'new media?

Will there always be new media?

The more people buy into this new wave of new media, the more old media will die. Google Tv for example incorporates television with the internet. 

(What is google tv?)

The more technology develops, the more popular new media becomes. Shouldn't we stick to what we know best and stand by old media? As a generation who thrive off technology, this may not happen. 

The Myth of Cyberspace

"The natural environment in which communication over computer networks occur."

What is cyberspace? A question which has many alternative answers. The etymology of the word is from the word 'Kybernates'. This is the rear of a boat, the part which navigates. On the other hand, Jari Petola says cyberspace is 'a matrix constructed out of information.'


But how does all this fit in with everyday life? Two of the most commonly known examples of cyberspace are Second Life and the film series The Matrix. Second Life is a online virtual world where people communicate with people round the world through the use of 'avatars'. At the end of 2011, over one million active users were counted; can Second Life be blamed as a form as escapism for a generation? Petola said that cyberspace can help you 'obtain immorality', maybe this is why games such as Second life have increased in popularity.


People of the 21st Century don't realise how powerful cyberspace can be. Information is powerful, whoever can manipulate information is powerful. Everybody would like to have some form of power, on the internet these come in the forms of 'cowboys'. These are hackers. As hackers emerged, so did other new buzzwords. These include 'RL' (real life) and 'meatspace' (virtual space). But can the mind and body be separated?


In the mid 1990's, Barlovian cyberspace emerged. This was a contrast to the earlier Gibsonian cyberspace, this is what Petola described as 'bodiless consciousnesses life there'. John Barlow describers the Barlovian era as a 'free, frontier zone' and that is is a 'declaration of the independence of cyberspace'


'The widespread adoption of the internet will result in the de-massification of the media.'


Many are now saying that the death of cyberspace is approaching. This can be seen through:
Smart Phones
Mobile Gaming
Ubicomp
Augmented Reality
Wearable clothing
Everywhere


If cyberspace was a myth to start with, how can it be near it's end?

Here is Neil Postman's view on the relationship between society and 

technology.