CYBORG OVERVIEW

For many, a Cyborg conjures up a sinister science fiction vision of autonomous androids that are detached from humanity. Whilst these machines represent one realisation of the Cyborg concept, there is also a more commonplace Cyborg reality of people extending their physical and mental abilities through mobile phones, email and the web.

As Haraway (1991) points out "A Cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction".

In other words, if a Cyborg, can be thought of as a merging between an organism and a machine then the symbiosis of biology and technology already exists. The question then, is the degree to which a person who wears glasses becomes as much a Cyborg as the Six Million Dollar Man?

The Cyborg concept is wide ranging, encompassing a number of topics and technologies. It introduces new social and moral issues as it becomes ever more pervasive throughout society.

Bruce (1998) suggests "Part human, part machine, the Cyborg is rapidly taking mankind in a whole new evolutionary direction, surmounting the weakness of flesh with carbon fibre and steel, cocking a snook at the ravages of time and tweaking the nose of mortality."

For instance, humans are already repairing damaged bodies and extending their capabilities through bionics. Conversely, the desire to make machines more human-friendly compels them to become more human-like. Do the huge advances made in robotics facilitate this? To what extent will these advances usher in new perceptions of humans and machines as the distinction between the two become blurred?

The fusion of man and machine also catapults us into the virtual worlds of cyberspace through technologies such as the web, email and multi-user game environments. At the same time our credit card bills and chat room avatars begin to create virtual traces of our identities - a digital shadow following the real 'us'.

Are the dystopian prophecies of cyberpunk fiction to become our new reality? The optimists argue that we will be blessed with new abilities beyond those that mere nature saw fit to give us but is human v2.0 - a being entwined and dependent on technology - a desirable destiny?

Specialist topics

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References

(Bruce, 1998), Bruce, I.S. 'Man Made', The Scotsman, December 1, Spectrum, p. UP4, cited in T209 Information and Communication Technologies: people and interactions,, CD-ROM study guide, Module 4, 'Bionics', The Open University, Milton Keynes.

( Haraway, 1991), Haraway, D.J. ‘A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century’, in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, Routledge, New York, pp. 149-181, cited in T209 Information and Communication Technologies: people and interactions,, CD-ROM study guide, Module 4, 'Cyborg Perspective', The Open University, Milton Keynes.

Banner Image Acknowledgements

Bionic Arm [online image] Available from: BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/154545.stm [Accessed 07 Jun 06]

Borg [online image] Available from: http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/robotics/ethics/index.html [Accessed 06 June 2006]

I-Cybie [online image] Available from: http://www.21stcentury.co.uk/robotics/icybie.asp [Accessed 06 June 2006]

Robot hand [online image] Available from: www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/robots/ [Accessed 09 June 2006]

Terminator [online image] Available from: http://www.edge-online.co.uk [Accessed 23 June 2006]