The Digital Body

Previously, technology history and progress has been discussed thoroughly, looking at the developments of what technology has been able to achieve with the invention of the internet being one of the biggest break through's. Now however, technology is being used as, and perhaps in replacement of human life and human features.

In 1943, the ENIAC 'Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer', or the first general use computer was made. This was the first one that could be reprogrammed to solve problems in computing. John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert from the University of Pennsylvania invented the machine for the US military. With the progression and development in computing, the ENIAC was no longer needed for computer programming as easier and faster methods were developed, and the power fuelling the ENIAC was eventually shut off in 1955.

< Programmers operate the main control board.

Interface

The point of interaction between a computer/technical device and a person.

There are many different ways a human can come into contact with technology. Computing is one of the main forms of interaction, with not only the internet. Millions of jobs require computing skills to perform correctly, mainly using word documents and printing equipment.

Phones and computing are the most obvious example of interface. More recent developments in interactivity have created new ways in which we can interact with technology for different purposes.
 < Nintendo Wii, using a hand device detected by motion control in order to play games on the console, released in 2006.

 < Oyster card, used for public transport in London, to be inserted into the ticket machine in the replacement of an actual ticket.

< Face recognition. Using developed cameras.

< ATM/cash machines. The machine detects and recognises the pin on your card and cannot be accessed without a 4 digit PIN number.

Could this lead to human life being dependant on technology? 


These are just a few examples of the majority of ways we interact with technology on more or less a daily basis.Technology has been developed and expanded so much in that it can even replace human organs. A pacemaker is a device which replaces the job of the human heart when it fails.One of the key problems with using technology to help human life is the possibility and threat of these devices being hacked and used for the entirely wrong reasons.

We already use technology to chip and track animals. We can also use hearing devices inserted into ears to help with any kid of hearing problems.

Prosthetic limbs have also improved people's lives massively. Although not always entirely technological, the parts are put together using machinery and can sometimes contain it, depending on the limb and the purpose.
A classic example would be from the Star Wars franchise film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' in the infamous 'I am your father' scene where Luke Skywalkers arm is cut off by his own father. You are then shown a new arm made for Luke by the robots of the ship.



The arm is seen to be electronic as sparks fly from it and it makes machinery noises when put to use. In reality, prosthetic limbs are becoming more and more advanced.



The limbs used to be designed to look like normal limbs, to ensure the person had a normal appearance. However research has concluded that other designs make life a lot easier. The most recent discovery has been the 'mind controlled limb': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppILwXwsMng



Cyborg? The concept that human kind and technology have become so closely intertwined that they could possibly morph to form a new kind of life.
References in Popular Culture:

Star Wars
Doctor Who

The idea of 'Cyborgs' has been widely covered in science fiction films, books and general interest. The whole idea of combining life and technology would blur the lines of reality, in that the two definitions would become entwined and be hard to separate. Although it is fascinating to think about and percieve, the idea that it actually could happen is quite frightening, as our way of life could completely change, and most likely will. 30 years ago, it would never have been believed that there would be a hand telephone device which could tell you where you were in the world, and that you could communicate with someone on the other side of the planet in a matter of seconds. The idea of  'cyborgs' and technological humans may seem absurd now, however in another 30 years it may be the complete norm.

Motions of life - what makes us human?

Vitalism: The theory or doctrine that life processes arise from or contain a nonmaterial vital principle and cannot be explained entirely as physical and chemical phenomena.

In other words, we are more than bodies and fluids. We have principles, morals and 'souls'. This separates us from other animals and technology. We have free will and freedom of thought, and something that makes us unique and 'human' which is deeper and more complex than scientific explanation.

Materiliasm: The theory that life needs certain physical matters to survive and develop as a kind.

'Material possessions' often relate to things that are expensive and desired for. However, as humans we need certain things to maintain and develop life. Chemicals, drugs and the need for medical research and developments are extremely important and keeping and maintaining life.

Informationism: The idea that living forms are capable of growing and repairing structures.

The idea and concept that we as humans can reproduce life, as well as being able to create and develop things such as buildings and developments.

One thing technology will (hopefully) never be able to copy off humans is reproduction. Humans created technology, and although technology helps to create other technology, humans are the initial controller.

Cloning  is a method in which can be seen that technology is used as a vital key in reproduction, however unnatural reproduction. The process occurs when an embryo is made in a test tube and inserted into a surrogate mother to continue like a normal pregnancy. Dolly the Sheep was the first ever animal to be successfully cloned, however she died young. This advance in cloning has shown that is it possible, and this could have major affects on the world.

To think that we have developed the technology in order to clone animals, does the idea of cloning people seem so far away? If that becomes possible, what singularity could occur next which will change the way of life even further?

The idea of cloning and creating humans in an unnatural way has been thought of before. There have been many films and basis of popular culture based around the concept of cloning and man-made humans.





Welcome to life - Tom Scott. 

Mind Uploading 

http://minduploadingproject.org/

The concept of 'Mind uploading' involves putting everything in your mind onto a computer device, so you are able to access it at any point. This may sound far-fetched and unrealistic however there has already been research and attempts at doing so. The thought of being able to upload your mind to a computer is odd, would it mean that everything in your head was copied or removed completely? There is the issue of privacy, in that if everything on your mind is physically on a computer, what's to stop it from being shared or hacked?
Does this also mean that theoretically, we could live forever? Even though our bodies die, if your mind is stored, what's to stop it being put in another physical form and technically, you would still be living.
There are a lot of ethical issues that surround this, and will involve a lot of trial and error in research if ever this was a genuine possibility.

Would you want this to happen to you?

If this ever did happen, your mind may be awoken in a different time, where everything and everyone you know has died. This would have a lot of effects on you and you may end up wishing you never underwent this. How would you kill a mind? Deleting?

So, who wants to live forever?

With everything that has been produced in terms of prolonging and maintaining life, is it just an obscure thought to think we could quite literally live forever?

Would you want to live forever? Thinking logically, your body would keep ageing, unless body preservation is progressed or Garnier come up with a better skin tightening cream. There are ethical, economical and social issues which would accompany this. The world would become even more over populated than it already is, if there aren't people dieing as often as there is now. This would lead to over crowding, a shortage of food and products, employment issues and others.

Overall, there may be research projects into this entire concept, however the actual possibility seems to be quite a while in the future. Who knows, you may be reading this blog with your head in a pickled jar in 4083.

http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/Eniac.htm

Mythology of the Media part 2

Certain 'mythologies' about the internet can really affect our relationship with technology and our lifestyles in general. The internet is and probably always will be a big part of modern society and our everyday lives.
The variety of uses that the internet can be used for is massive. There is said to be 100 individual internet pages per person in the entire world.

Different cultures influence and use the internet in their own way. For example China has an entirely different way of using the internet, whereas most of the world use the ''www.'' forum, invented by Tim Berners-Lee. This means they can monitor everyone using their internet. Iran have also created their own network http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/25/iran-state-run-internet to increase censorship. This supports the myth of privacy and censorship. Usually what you put on the internet, unless privatised can be seen by anyone anywhere in the world. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have privacy settings, however they are not guaranteed and not everyone thinks about the consequences of having a public account or profile.

Another myth is that 'The technology of the Internet is making us more social and helping to foster a new kind of community'. This is true to an extent as from the internet you are able to meet and contact anyone anywhere in the world, whereas previously it would be near impossible to just meet someone from the other side of the world. However, this has also brought a new type of danger, with chat rooms turning into obsessive relationships turning into abductions and pedophilia. It could be argued that the invention of social networking has led us to become less social in reality, as we spend so much time socialising on the internet. Since October 2012, there are over a billion active Facebook accounts. http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22. 

Augmented Reality? - http://www.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm



This refers to combining reality and technology together, a view of the real world with implements of technical features using computer generated inputs such as graphics and other data. Also known as 'Virtual Reality' which has been in discussion for a while. Virtual Reality in gaming has recently come into the mainstream. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vcGqha6xJ0. Previously gaming delved into virtual reality by giving users the opportunity to use headsets and microphones. Combined together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vcGqha6xJ0. This video shows the problems you can encounter with virtual gaming.



''We are the web.'' - Kevin Kelly. - http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/tech.html
This paper discusses web 2.0 (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1008839) and the progression of the internet itself. It tells how in 1965 Ted Nelson attempted his own version of the internet, however his efforts went unknown. 1984 Kelly met Nelson who told of his intention to ''organise all the knowledge of humanity'' and to ''save the world from stupidity.'' Alternatively, Vannevar Bush thought of 'hyperlinked pages' in 1945.

''For the trails of the machine become duplicated in the brain of the user, vaguely as all human memory is vague, but with a concomitant emphasis by repetition, creation and discard … as the cells of the brain become realigned and reconnected, better to utilize the massive explicit memory which is its servant.'' [Bush 1959, 178] http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/2/1/000015/000015.html

Is the machine using us?

We are the web.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

The next step? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=off08As3siM&feature=related

New Technologies

''Technology'' is often associated with digital and electronics. However, ''technology'' has a formal definition of: The purposeful application of information in the design, production and utilisation of goods and services, and in the organisation of human activities. - http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/technology.html

This means that technology can relate to anything, from using a pencil on paper to an iPad. In 2012, technology has never been more advanced and broad. Over half the population have a mobile phone, and over 100,000,000 twitter accounts were opened in 2010. - http://agbeat.com/real-estate-coaching-tutorials/tech/internet-technology-statistics-and-infographics/

Years and years ago, 'technology' could refer to anything from pottery, carpentry to making fire. The word 'technology' was first used by the philosopher Aristotle. He concluded that technology is an emulation of nature, in that for example a car replaces a horse as a mode of transport.

Karl Marx, the father of Communism opposed technology and predicted it would be the downfall of Capitalism. “Right down to the eighteenth century, the different trades were called ‘mysteries.'"  Then, he continued, the veil of mystery was torn apart by “the modern science of technology.”

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Most recently, the 'tablet' has come into popular culture, ranging from an iPad to a Kindle. Every major technical company seems to have their own brand which does something more ridiculous than the last.

Rumours of an 'iPad mini' have arisen. The iPad came out in 2010. It was a massive success and now over 17,000,000 iPads have been sold over the past 2 years.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple at the time of release.

The iPad series hold many features, all the same as the iPhone with more added, such as the ability to download and read books. With it being Wi-Fi enabled, it is quite literally a handheld computer which is easier to see and to use than an iPhone. It comes with extras such as connector cables so you can download films, music and photos from your laptop and put them onto any other database such as a television or a different computer. It also has a camera and you are able to make video calls, or 'Facetime', wherever you are in the world.

The iPad 2 then followed, with some improvements made from the original. The iPad 2 was made thinner and 15% lighter than the original. It also installed a self facing camera as well as a camera on the back to make video conferencing and 'facetime' easier. Price is also a difference, as when the iPad 2 came out, the original iPad fell in price, originally priced at $300, it fell to $249 when the iPad 2 was priced at $400 originally. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/tablets/ipad-and-ipad-2-difference2.htm


The introduction of the 'mini iPad' which does literally everything an iPad 2 does, but just smaller and lighter is purely excessive. Apple have made this product simply because they can. The invention of the 'iPad' in general has provoked a change in the way we view technology, in that there was a new craze to have which made previous inventions out dated and old news. 

The Unabomber

Ted Kaczynski, or more commonly known as 'The Unabomber' is an American ex Harvard student convicted of a murder rampage lasting 18 years. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/kaczynski/2.html

He handmade explosive bombs intended to injure and kill his victims. The name 'Unabomber' came from the reference the FBI used to call his case,  "UNABOM" (UNiversity & Airline BOMber) because of the nature of his bombings. 

He believed society was being destroyed by the growing dependence on technology. He made a manifesto on his entire beliefs and wants for society, which he requested be published in works such as The New York Times: http://cyber.eserver.org/unabom.txt

''My bombings were extreme but necessary to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom necessitated by modern technologies requiring large-scale organization.'' - Unabomber, in response to when asked about his actions. 

Media Change

There are approximately 7, 012,000,000 people in the world today. 5, 006,000,000 of those people have a mobile phone.

''Mediamorphosis'' is a term used to describe the evolution of media, mainly mobile phones. The majority of University students with a smart phone can show how the mobile phone is actually no longer just a mobile phone. They are now mini computers, with internet access, video and photo taking devices, GPS systems, sound systems and hundreds of other things as well as a phone. Ten years ago that would've seemed impossible and laughable. This can show that ''new media'' is always changing and that change itself is inevitable. 

The majority of people who own a mobile phone today are more than likely to hold an android phone. However the young adult generation of today will remember the excitement of receiving their first mobile phone at the age of 12/13. This phone, most likely a Nokia 3010i was mainly used for playing 'snake' and texting your mum what you want for dinner. 

With the development of technology, the younger generations are learning how to use them quicker than the older generations. Most babies and children's toys have some form of digital technology included in them. This means that children are learning to use this type of equipment from a very young age, and therefore will be more adaptable and more advanced in technology when it comes to their older years. 

Historical development 

Remediation: The act or process of correcting a fault or deficiency: ''http://www.thefreedictionary.com/remediation''

Digitisation: to transcribe (data) into a digital form so that it can bedirectly processed by a computer - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/digitisation

This enables computer technology to progress into making new hardware for more advanced possibilities in media. For example, green screens in film and television. 

This video shows the effectiveness of green screens and how it has massively helped film makers and photographers in the ease of creating a specific picture. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4gqHPdRKJM&feature=related

Interactivity: 

1.

allowing or relating to continuous two-way transfer of information between a user and the central point of a communication system, such as a computer or television

2.

(of two or more persons, forces, etc) acting upon or in close relation with each other; interacting http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Interactivity?s=t Having the internet has made Interactivity more advanced. However there is the argument that the popularisation of the internet and of telephones has ceased pure face to face interaction. Specifically in education, methods such as powerpoints, online guidance and ironically blogging are used as teaching methods that are supposedly more suited to students in 2012. Older generations simply learnt through teacher to class interaction, perhaps with a blackboard.''The attention span of an average internet user is now shorter than that of a nervous rabbit on crack'' - http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2009/07/07/did-the-internet-shorten-your-attention-span/ There are plenty of arguments stating that young adults and teenagers are less able to keep their attention focused on something as they are so used to digital devices such as the internet and TV where they don't need to sustain focus or think too hard as everything is offered to them by the internet or TV.

Academic Blogging - yay or nay?

What is a blog?

Blogs are internet based, simply they are renditions of a persons thoughts, findings, feelings or whatever they choose to write about published on a webpage. There are different reasons for having blogs, including entertainment, insight and academic. Content can vary depending on the topic of blog, however they can include text, pictures, videos, audio and more. An official definition of 'blog' can be found: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blog. 

''A web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites.''

There are debates about whether blogging should be encouraged or stopped. Academic blogging in particular falls strongly under this debate. It is up to the individual which type of medium they prefer to compose and publish their work on. Blogging for academics, on the lines of showing research and findings can be a big advantage as the simple notion of being able to delete parts of work and re-write and edit when needed without having to physically re-write or go through any stress. Being able to access your work from anywhere as long as you have the internet is also a massive advantage as there is no physical possession of the work, which means there is no chance of loss or damage. Being on the internet, it can also be accessed by anyone anywhere in the world. It can even appear on Google if the right trick words are searched. This obviously has it's own advantages and disadvantages of copyright and plagiarism, depending on the importance and content of your work. 


''Why not force yourself to articulate your points in such a way that strangers could come to know your thoughts as intimately as your friends from grad school do?'' - Scott Eric Kaufman, a PhD candidate in English literature -http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2007/12/03/pros-and-cons-of-academic-blogging/


Blogging is obviously a lot more informal than classic types of academic workings, you have the opportunity to write more freely and intimately as the internet. In 2012, blogging is culturally relevant to society. There have never been more people on the internet, with an estimated 52 million users. ''http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-by-country/18-uk/148-usage-patterns-and-demographics''. 

The word 'academic' is often associated with old fat men with dirty beards and wrongly buttoned shirts. An association with this stereotype is also a passion of hatred for the changing cultures of today's young people, as well as bathing. It goes without saying that 'blogging' would be an entirely new concept for them and would most probably be intimidated by this new medium of working. 

''I have concerns about the notion that blogging will soon become the choice method of academic communication, or, worse yet, the notion that blogging ought to replace traditional forms of academic publishing.'' -  University of Alberta law blog, Barbara Billingsley - http://thoughtcapital.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/reluctant-academic-bloggers/

What makes a good blog?

For this first assignment, we have been asked to think, research and write about what a blog is and what makes a good or a bad blog. There are masses of websites which enable you to have your own blog, whatever the content. From Academic scientific blogs to Tumblr blogs about cats, the possibilities are literally endless. 

Being a free resource, you yourself are free to write whatever you want and publish whatever you want to the world. Blogs usually aren't private and can be accessed by almost anyone. The website 'blogger' however have their own policy to sustain decency and keep away from anyone being offended. 
http://www.blogger.com/content.g 

For this cause of showing our work, research and findings from seminars, personal research and general work on the matter, blogging is an incredibly useful tool to use. Going back and reading through and editing previous work is a big advantage to anyone as you are able to follow up and keep consistency flowing throughout the entire piece, or perhaps correct something that wasn't exactly right. 

On the terms of a 'good' blog, the content must be thorough and relevant, as well as presented in a way that's easy for your audience to read. Being on the internet, the audience could literally be anyone, however your target audience ought to be thought about, with the vocabulary you choose and the tone of your writing among other things. Remedial as it seems, blogs can become boring or monotonous with just pages and pages of text. Pictures, video and audio are great tools to use to help you demonstrate your points and just to entertain and create a rapport with the audience.