THINKING AT THE EDGE (Clive Cazeaux)

This picture sums up our lecture

Today was the first day of my chosen option. I chose this option as I felt it connected to me most. I am interested in questioning the everyday life of objects and how they are changing our behaviour and what will be the outcome of this if we continue. After our introduction to the course we had a small group discussion on how language and materials define us. We decided that language defines where we originate from or where we are situated now, it helps us portray the character we wish to present such as friendly or aggressive but at the same time it can also be used to persuade or discourage others. The language we choose to use defines others perspective of us beyond our control, but nonetheless it is the base line connection between humans. We moved onto material where we felt that social restraints affect the material we possess, such as jewellery or construction material based on the economy.

The next discussion we had was whether of not medicines and other forms of modern technology are turning us into cyborgs. This was challenging as to what defines us as human or a cyborg as today we depend on technology from our cars to get from A-B or our kitchen equipment for food. Although building complex structures and problem solving is within our human nature. After much discussion there were questions whether humans surround themselves with technology as an escape from mortality.

In my opinion, Humans have been recorded from the start of time to use some form of technology- from fire to sticks as weapons, and as time has moved on so has the complexity of technology. However, todays technology has in my view gone past the threshold of human technology. This is because we have entered the micro-tech world, static materials which can hold information can be manipulated whenever we feel. This technology cannot be made by human interaction but from the computers and technology we have previously made. Instead of a network of mechanics, pilots and train drivers etc, any of these COULD be controlled by computers and artificial intelligence instead of humans, pushing the humans away from our own engineering network. A time not so long ago we could open a piece of technological equipment and see its working components and understand its ability to process, but now most equipment is controlled by chips and motherboards that appear to be smaller than ever. These are the alienated technological equipment intercepting the way we make new technology.

Also at a time of modern technology, we rely on this fairly new equipment to hold our personal and private information such as bank details, stock markets and international exchanges but also on the uprise is online fraud and hackers who are mostly botnet viruses who’s control is beyond their creator. We do not know the long term effect of wifi or electronic signals to the human body yet we continue to build more and more technology which is dependant on this. Today even modern fridges have the ability to connect to wifi and keep a record of what you have kept in your fridge which relates back to the topic of whether humans use technology or if technology uses us.