Cyborg Anthropology is the study of how human beings use technology to vary their bodies. A cyborg, on the other hand, is a being that has both artificial and natural parts. That includes a robot enhanced with human-like characteristics or a person with mechanical implants. Despite the mechanical improvements, such a person would still be recognized as human when accessing a site like 7Slots.
However, these variations that mix man and machine bring many moral and ethical controversies. In the ever-changing technological space we live in, varied opinions are foreseeable. Where should you draw the line when integrating machines and people?
Uses of Cyborg Anthropology
This development can be applied in various sectors, such as:
- military to improve artificial intelligence;
- medical world to develop parts like pacemakers;
- entertainment industry to enhance the virtual reality experience.
Ethical Considerations in Cyborg Anthropology
There are questions as to what control you can have over people who desire to be strengthened by adding different machinery parts to themselves. This issue is even more problematic when the addition is for cosmetic purposes and is not meant to address any defects in your body. There are also considerations around privacy and consent.
Technological enhancement comes with the collection of data. In the case of changes in people, who controls the data collected, and are the people involved actually giving consent over their bodies while fully understanding what it means?
Pros of Human Enhancement Using Technology
The use of modern technologies for human improvement has obvious advantages.
Medical Development
The use of science to study human-technology interaction has brought about devices such as exoskeletons and pacemakers, among others, that help patients manage their diseases. This has brought about better quality to patients like amputees who would otherwise not have been able to perform some of the ordinary tasks and be independent.
Varied Forms of Entertainment
The entertainment industry is constantly evolving, and new concepts are being introduced, such as virtual reality devices. These devices allow people to enter a different realm of reality where anything is possible. It is now common to have people wearing devices over their eyes, and they are transported to another realm where their reality is different.
Cons of Human Enhancement Using Technology
However, it raises a number of issues and disadvantages that still need to be addressed.
Ethical Dilemmas
As discussed earlier, the ethics of people being modified with technology is very divisive. Some believe that machines may take over peoples’ independence and autonomy. The issue of contention is just how far the natural and artificial should be allowed to mix.
Is it likely that, at a point, machines could be more significant than human beings? They could impact people’s lives so much that you completely rely on them. Some also argue that man and technology already merged because tech is such a vital part of your everyday lives.
Misuse
As with any other advancement, there comes an opportunity for commercialization. This could be in terms of the data collected or the machine parts that can be used to improve the lives of those who need it. The issue of commercialization of disability comes up when developers of these products seek to unfairly price them so that they are not accessible to the ordinary person. This is, in fact, the case now, as equipment such as prostheses is hard to afford for most people who desperately need them.
The enhancement of people is only accessible to the higher-ups in society. This means those poorer in society continue to be disadvantaged and will forever remain behind. The inequalities will bring about even more social injustice, the gap between those who can afford a prosthesis and those who cannot increase. They can also be used to encourage discrimination among different classes. In the case of facial recognition, the data collected may be used to target those perceived to be from different cultures unfairly. This further brings about incidences of abuse of privacy and lack of consent.
This is a very contentious topic with two extreme arguments. There are those who believe that machines only help enhance you to minimize your weaknesses and maximize your strengths. On the other hand, there are those who believe that you should utilize your strengths as given by a supreme being and not seek to enhance yourself beyond what was intended. Looking at the former argument, the question of how far you are willing to go to reach this optimized condition comes up. Furthermore, what would be categorized as optimized when using machines to better a person? For the latter, the question at hand is that the supreme force does not want you to live a comfortable life based on things developed from the knowledge it gave you.
