5.7 Extending the Human Brain

As humans develop new technologies, we are rapidly shrinking the time-space of our environment. Thanks to the internet, smart phones, computers, and more, we can communicate in real time with others across the globe. Does this mean we are already becoming cyborgs?

Anthropologist Amber Case argues yes. This paradigm, cyborg anthropology, argues that modern human life is now a product of both humans and nonhuman objects. The tools and resources we have created are beginning to make us ever reliant on our digital technologies in order to succeed in the world around us…to survive, gather resources, and reproduce.

Watch Amber Cases TEDWomen talk, “We are all cyborgs now,” below.

Becoming a cyborg is not only about extending our capacity for communication and memory. We are also rapidly developing technologies to help overcome perceived deficits in perception and cognition. Neil Harbisson was born completely colorblind – he lives in a grayscale world. Yet, because of our cultural innovations, Neil now hears colors thanks to a neural implant and his “eyeborg” headpiece.

Watch Neil Harbisson’s TEDGlobal talk, “I listen to color,” as he discusses being a cyborg.