Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Robochimpz

Here's some insight on how far away the human race is to living amongst evil geniuses, I-robots, and Robocops. Sue Barnes mentions the human drive to create a cyber-self, and those cyberpunkish enough would want to completely blend the realms of virtual and actual reality. Based on the rapid acceleration of technology experienced in our lifetime, us cyber-rebels have now been able to create alternate replicas of ourselves through things like Web 2.0. As a popular way to finally "leave our bodies in the boring, physical world", Web 2.0 allows every one to interact with others, form relationships, and exchange personal gestures. The activities performed by our cyber-selves are technically disconnected from our physical bodies, however can affect us in the same way. We can gain feelings of stimulation and excitement from our cyber-self's interactions, while at the same time we can easily find ourselves feeling dissapointment and resentment like we would in actual personal relationships. This should not be considered a bad thing for the evergrowing cyberculture who strive for further grasp on virtual space.

The question seems to be however, how far do we let the roller coaster of technology go before the cyberpunks puke their guts up? The idea of artificial brain functions and computerized thought processes may not be too far away due to recent advancements in the technology needed. If a monkey can send brain functions to a robot then it is in the foreseeable future that humans can begin to possess the same cyber powers. However, I do not feel that the human demand for this type of cyber-interaction is high enough yet for this technology to be truly perfected. Perhaps, the cyberpunks are a little too intimidated by robot monkeys because of how many times they've rewatched Planet of the Apes. You be the judge if we will evolve from our furry friends in the cyber world.

1 comment:

Lance Strate said...

I used to believe that we would not be able to develop a direct neurological-technological interface, that it was pure science fiction, but I was obviously completely wrong about that. You're right that there may not be great demand in the everyday world right now, but war tends to result in technological advances, and we have been at war for some time now. The need to help veterans with paralysis and amputated limbs is clear, but also our desire not to put lives at risk may well be the motivation to develop remote controlled soldiers, just as we have already done with drone airplanes and smart bombs.