CYBORG

CYBORG HISTORY:C Commitment Y Youthful B Brilliance O Optimistic R Resourcefulness G Genuine The concept of a man-machine mixture was widespread in science fiction before World War II. In the short story "No Woman Born" in 1944, C. L. Moore wrote of Deirdre, a dancer, whose body was burned completely and whose brain was placed in a faceless but beautiful and supple mechanical body. A Cyborg is a cybernetic organism (i.e. an organism that has both artificial and natural systems). The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S. Halacy's Cyborg: Evolution of the Superman in 1965 featured an introduction which spoke of a "new frontier" that was "not merely space, but more profoundly the relationship between 'inner spaces' to 'outer space' -a bridge...between mind and matter.

Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy. Fictional cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical (e.g. the Cyber men in the Doctor Who franchise or The Borg from Star Trek). The 1970s television series The Six Million Dollar Man featured one of the most famous fictional cyborgs.

BASIC DEFINITION: According to some definitions of the term, the metaphysical and physical attachments humanity has with even the most basic technologies have already made them cyborgs. In a typical example, a human fitted with a heart pacemaker or an insulin pump (if the person has diabetes) might be considered a Cyborg, since these mechanical parts enhance the body's "natural" mechanisms through synthetic feedback mechanisms. Some theorists cite such modifications as contact lenses, hearing aids, or intraocular lenses as examples of fitting humans with technology to enhance their biological capabilities; however, these modifications are no more cybernetic than would be a pen or a wooden leg. Ten months earlier The New York Times had printed: A Cyborg is essentially a man-machine system in which the control mechanisms of the human portion are modified externally by drugs or regulatory devices so that the being can live in an environment different from the normal one. More broadly, the full term "cybernetic organism" is used to describe larger networks of communication and control. For example, cities, networks of roads, networks of software, corporations, markets, governments, and the collection of these things together. A corporation can be considered as an artificial intelligence that makes use of replaceable human components to function. People at all ranks can be considered replaceable agents of their functionally intelligent government institutions, whether such a view is desirable or not.

WHAT DOES THE THEORIST SAY? : Marshall McLuhan "All media are extensions of some human faculty - physic or physical. McHugh (quoted in Gray reading) "Soon perhaps, it will be impossible to tell where human ends and machines begin." Donna Haraway "We are all cyborgs."

Figuratively, we are "living through a movement from an organic, industrial society to [society as] an ...information system".[i.e. humans are being re-crafted by biological and communications technologies.] Futurologist Alvin Toffler soon, miniaturised computers "will not only be implanted to compensate for some physical defect but eventually will be implanted to enhance human capability. The line between human and computer at some point will become completely blurred. N. Katherine Hayes According to Hayes we are moving from the human-machine hyphen where the human is connected to the machine, to the human/machine splice where the human and the machine extend into each other and there is no clearly distinguishable boundary between them.

INDIVIDUAL CYBORG: I know two people which are use their individual Cyborg in present day: 1) In 2002, under the heading Project Cyborg, a British scientist, Kevin Warwick, had an array of 100 electrodes fired in to his nervous system in order to link his nervous system into the internet. With this in place he successfully carried out a series of experiments including extending his nervous system over the internet to control a robotic hand, a loudspeaker and amplifier. This is a form of extended sensory input and the first direct electronic communication between the nervous systems of two humans. 2) In 2004, under the heading bridging the Island of the Colorblind Project, a British and completely colorblind artist, Neil Harbisson, had an eyeborg installed on his head in order to hear colors. His prosthetic device was included within his passport photograph as confirmation of its permanent and embedded Cyborg status.

APPLICATION: Cyborgs in fiction often play up a human contempt for over-dependence on technology, particularly when used for war, and when used in ways that seem to threaten free will. Cyborgs are also often portrayed with physical or mental abilities far exceeding a human counterpart (military forms may have inbuilt weapons, among other things). 1) Daily Use:-

This includes artifacts that may not popularly be considered technology; for example, pen and paper, and speech and language. Augmented with these technologies, and connected in communication with people in other times and places, a person becomes capable of much more than they were before. This is like computers, which gain power by using Internet protocols to connect with other computers. Cybernetic technologies include highways, pipes, electrical wiring, buildings, electrical plants, libraries, and other infrastructure that we hardly notice, but which are critical parts of the cybernetics that we work within.etc. 2) In Medicine:In medicine, there are two important and different types of cyborgs: these are the restorative and the enhanced. Restorative technologies restore lost function, organs, and limbs The key aspect of restorative cyborgization is the repair of broken or missing processes to revert to a healthy or average level of function. There is no enhancement to the original faculties and processes that were lost. Although prostheses in general supplement lost or damaged body parts with the integration of a mechanical artifice, bionic implants in medicine allow model organs or body parts to mimic the original function more closely. Jesse Sullivan became one of the first people to operate a fully robotic limb through a nerve-muscle graft, enabling him a complex range of motions beyond that of previous prosthetics. By 2004, a fully functioning artificial heart was developed. The continued technological development of bionic and a nanotechnology begin to raise the question of enhancement, and of the future possibilities for cyborgs which surpass the original functionality of the biological model.etc..

3) In Military :Military organizations' research has recently focused on the utilization of Cyborg animals for inter-species relationships for the purposes of a supposed tactical advantage. DARPA has announced its interest in developing "Cyborg insects" to transmit data from sensors implanted into the insect during the pupal stage. The insect's motion would be controlled from a MEMS, or Micro-Electro-Mechanical System, and would conceivably surveil an environment and detect explosives or gas. Similarly, DARPA is developing a neural implant to remotely control the movement of sharks. The shark's unique senses would be exploited to provide data feedback in relation to enemy ship movement and underwater explosives.etc.. 4) In Sports:-

The cyborgization of sports has come to the forefront of the national consciousness in recent years. Through the media, America has been exposed to the subject both with the BALCO scandal and the accusations of blood doping at the Tour de France levied against Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. But, there is more to the subject; steroid, blood doping, prosthesis, body modification, and maybe in the future, genetic modification is all topics that should be included within cyborgs in sports. However, many artists have tried to create public awareness of cybernetic organisms; these can range from paintings to installations. Machines are becoming more ubiquitous in the artistic process itself, with computerized drawing pads replacing pen and paper, and drum machines becoming nearly as popular as human drummers. This is perhaps most notable in generative art and music. Composers such as Brian Eno have developed and utilized software which can build entire musical scores from a few basic mathematical parameters. 5) In Popular Culture:Cyborgs have become a well-known part of science fiction literature and other media. Examples of fictional biologically based cyborgs include Robocop, Replicants, Star Trek's Borg and Star Wars' Darth Vader. Mechanically based cyborgs include Cylons and Terminators.

THE RESEARCH:The ultimate goal of neuro-cybernetic research is the technological implementation of major principles of information processing in biological organisms by probing cellular and network mechanisms of brain functions. To unravel the biological design principles, computer-aided analyses of neuronal structure and signal transmission based on modern information theories and engineering methods are employed. An offshoot of neuro cybernetics is the field of Neuro-dynamics also called Neural Field Theory, which uses differential equations to describe activity patterns in bulk neural matter. Research for Neuro-dynamics involves the interdisciplinary areas of Statistics and nonlinear physics and sensory neurobiology. On the physics side, topics of interest include information measures, oscillators, stochastic resonance, unstable periodic orbits, and pattern formation in ensembles of agents. Steve Mann has been working on wearable computing technologies since the 1970s.Developed Wear Comp and Wear Cam technologies. Worked at MIT from 1991 ( seed ideas for Wearable Computing Group). Now works at University of Toronto. Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, UK, has implanted computer chips into his arm allowing him to communicate with a computer.

FILM EXAMPLE:1) Robocop, 1987, dir: Paul Verhoeven The narrative is set in a near future Detroit. Law enforcement has been privatised taken over by the corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP). OCP is developing a new cyborg police officer called the Robocop - part human, part machine. The Robocop Cyborg is build using the body of a police officer (Murphy) who is declared dead after being severely injured in the line of duty.

Central Themes of Movie:Dehumanization threatened by the advent of the cyborg The human is viewed as a product Murphys memory is wiped so he can be re-programmed Murphy is owned by the corporation OCP

Reassertion of human identity despite technological transformations Murphy re-asserts his human identity by reclaiming his human memories and human relationships.

2) Terminator 2: Judgment Day Terminator 2: Judgment Day,1991, dir. James Cameron

Theme - the humanization of the machine The terminator learns human values

REFERENCES:. . . Gray, C. H. (ed), (1995), Introduction, in The Cyborg Handbook, London: Rout ledge. Gray, C. H. (2001) Cyborg Citizen: Politics in the Post human Age, New York: Rout ledge. Haraway, D. Foreword, in Chris Hables Gray (ed), (1995) The Cyborg Handbook, London: Rout ledge.

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Haraway, D. (1991) A Manifesto for Cyborgs, in Simians, Cyborgs and Women, London: Free Association Books. Murphie, A. and Potts, J. (2003) Culture and Technology, Basingstoke: Palgrave. Principia Cybernetica Web- http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/CYBERN.html Hyperdictionary - http://www.hyperdictionary.com Steve Mann - http://wearcam.org/index.html Patricia Piccinini - http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/ Kevin Warwick - http://www.kevinwarwick.com Stelarc - http://www.stelarc.va.com.au

By, Rangoonwala Denish