It is amazing to think how far humans have come from pre-historic times in terms of technology and innovation. The “first technologies” were basically found, natural objects which were modified or designed for a particular type of praxis (Ihde 1993). These early, humble beginnings have now transformed into the present day of smart phones, virtual reality and many other technological advancements that aid human daily life. Despite these magnificent advancements and progressions in technology, this question is raised – Am I a real human?

There is a trembling thin line dividing humans and technology in society today. When you think about how many types of technology and machinery you interact with each day, it becomes quite startling and thought provoking. We wake up, and usually the first thing we touch is our smart phone. It’s legitimate to say that technology has stripped us of our interaction skills which is ultimately transforming us into machines. Technology is disconnecting us from the world and making people feel isolated. We have succumbed to the ways of technology and most people are not completely aware of this. Instead of meeting up with a friend, we simply text them on our phones. As humans, it is essential that we have close face-to-face contact with others but technology is slowly taking this human right away from us.

Lacking human contact and being addicted to your smart phones are problems of today, but what will happen in the future? The recent BBC TV Show Humans presents a world where machines have taken over parts of the work-force and perform basic human activities such as house work for families. The machines, which are called “Synths” are made to look human which could be interpreted as a way to bridge the gap between human-technology interactions. In some ways, the Synths are “more human than human”, a concept famously explored in the 1982 film Blade Runner with the Replicants. The Synths are programmed to work better, they don’t make mistakes, they look perfect and they are efficient. However, they cannot feel.

It is a matter of time before this future becomes a reality. As Peter-Paul Verbeek says in his paper about cyborg intentionality, “Technological development has reached a stage in which technology has started to interfere explicitly with the nature of human beings.” (Verbeek 2008). One day, your job could be taken away from you by a machine or you will be reduced to nothing as a machine already does everything for you. This idea is not just a fantasy, it is already a reality. The relationship between humans and machines is being already being refined as evident through Gartner’s “Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies” report for 2013 (Eddy 2013). In this report, they discuss “…augmenting humans with technology…machines replacing humans…and humans and machines working alongside each other.”  This aims to make humans and machines even closer in the future which to some could be innovative and to others could be a nightmare.

The representations of futures with advanced machinery in films and tv shows such as the Synths, are not that crazy and imaginative; they are actual possibilities. Am I a real human? In all honesty, I shouldn’t have to ask that question.

Bibliography:

Eddy, N. 2013, ‘Relationship Between Humans, Machines Must Evolve: Gartner’, eWeek, weblog, viewed 21 August 2015, <http://www.eweek.com/small-business/relationship-between-humans-machines-must-evolve-gartner/>

Ihde, D. 1993, ‘Technology,’ Philosophy of Technology: An introduction, New York: Paragon House, pp.47-64.

Kelly, K. 2012, ‘Better Than Human: Why Robots Will – And Must – Take Our Jobs’, Wired, weblog, viewed 21 August 2015, <http://www.wired.com/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take-our-jobs/>

Tim Hunkin, 2008, Technology Is What Makes Us Human, viewed 24 August 2015 <http://www.timhunkin.com/a118_technology_is_human.htm&gt;

Verbeek, P. 2008, ‘Cyborg intentionality: Rethinking the phenomenology of human-technology relations’, Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 387-395.

Youtube, 2015, TRAILER: Humans | Sunday 14th June | Channel 4, viewed 23 August 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU4mwlTUXnc>