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Nick Tacca, Project 2 Progress
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Son Pham – “The Boundary” progress
Thesis:
At face value, technological advancements have been perceived to offer many great benefits to the global population whether directly or indirectly. Technology and its well-fares to society are in the constant eye of the public and are presented through all media outlets and in almost every aspect of life. Our massive exposure to technology has made it so that it has become essential our daily lives. However, with so much technology, private information and data all passing through the system, it is expressed that we no longer live in a society where privacy is truly prevalent. Ultimately, even when we are not sitting in front of a computer monitor, technology could perhaps make it so that we are still being watched.
Images:
Research:
This article and many like state that indeed the government keeps a keen watchful eye on American citizens by way of interception of messages and phone calls. Such allegations are, of course, denied by government officials. Though, with the constant rise in faster, smarter means of technology and storing technological data, we could be being watched whilst performing everyday private activities and have no clue.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/surveillance-society-7-ways-you-re-being-watched-and-didn-t-know-it-1.1337075
Plan:
I intend on creating a detailed series of Keyshot renders which explore and depict my topic.
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Son Pham – Posthumanism thesis
Thesis statement:
While vastly extending productivity, enhancing humans’ capability and raising the standards of living, technology has been constantly changing the way we live to a boundary that if surpassed, could plague humanity with class struggles, civil conflicts and possibly overhaul the entire existence of human-beings.
Collected images and inspiration:
(In the folder)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSGBwUEcM6c “Blade Runner” who uses prosthetic legs to compete with ‘proper’ athletes and even surpasses them in athletic ability.
Link: http://www.behance.net/gallery/STYLEFRAMES-NY-TITLE-SEQUENCE/9076851 An implementation of future New York with stylish art direction.
Blade Runner (1982) the Movie
Cloud Atlas (2012) movie.
Brief description of the research:
One of the common problems of arguments on posthumanism is that the assumptions of “human values” and “happiness”, are not clearly defined. The movie “Blade Runner” perfectly illustrates this ambiguity. The story of the movie sets on 2019, when a number of genetically engineered organic robots called “replicants” are manufactured by Tyrell Corporations and a number of “mega-corporations” around the worlds. Because the use of these robots is banned on Earth, replicants are forced to work on “off-world” colonies. Those who defy the ban will be hunted down by a group of police called “Blade Runner”. The movie showed a lot of existed problems accompanied with technologies such as dominance of corrupt corporations and excessive surveillance. It also challenged our assumption of what it means to be humans, and whether these replicants should be considered equal to humans.
In the same way, Cloud Atlas also portrayed the ambiguity on the definition of human and the problems that could arise. Sonmi~451, a genetically engineered robot is not considered a human-being. She and her ‘species’ are enslaved on the promise that they would be free after serving their term, only to later be recycled into other robots. Without a clear definition of human-beings, post-humanism becomes a dirty politics game, a tool for the elites and big corporations to exploit, disguise and make profits for themselves.
However, in this project, I decide to focus on something I called ‘boundary’. From my observation, humans’ development and technologies have been a naïve process of pursuing profits and short-term benefits. While being a very productive force for the society, these technological advancements already step into controversial field such as human-cloning or genetic modification. By advancing too naively and too fast, we already did something without fully perceiving its consequences. I do believe that all technological advancements should be limited by a well-defined moral ‘boundary’. One such boundary, for example, might be that genetic modification should only be used for cancer treatment, not physical enhancement. By clearly defining this boundary, we set a right direction for technological developments and this will help increase the material well-being of society.
Quote:
“Humanism may be coming to an end as humanism transforms itself into something one must helplessly call posthumanism” – Ihab Hassan, theorist
Project description:
I will do some keyshot renders for this sculpture set.
Thesis
Humans have always been, in part, defined by our ability to use tools and manipulate our surroundings and ourselves. So the advances in technology that we have today are not a new thing, they are just a more visible extension of what has always been happening.
My goal for this project is to create a 3d print that conveys the thought of humans evolving with their technology.
Thesis:
Emerging human advancements will definitely enhance the living standards and abilities of mankind to no end. However, such enhancements will only benefit those who can afford them. As of now the world has been and is still filled with unbalanced wealth distribution, underdeveloped countries, and unstable economic environment causing only a handful of privileged people to gain more.
Images:
Research to further understand post-humanism:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/asoka-bandarage/a-post-nature-post-human-world_b_3451865.html
In the article Asoka Bandarage, discusses the vast changes mankind might undergo in the era of posthumanism. Many pros and cons due to the manipulation and redesign of nature and human are mentioned in the article. Bandarage discusses numerous advancements such as reaching immortality, replaceable genes, A. I. with superior knowledge and more that can definitely improve the overall living standard of the world. But Bandarage is also hesitant of what each breakthrough in technology would result in society. The possibility of disappearance of earth-based indigenous people or being able to self-replicate an entire human being can raise issues that people might not be ready to face. People are always willing to achieve technological advancement but are uneasy when they are forced to question the essential values and morality arising from such advancements. Bandarage shows hope that human technology advancement can get rid of ecological and social crises rooted in human greed, ego, by getting rid of the fear of death and attachment to self. However, she also worries about the moral and psychological changes that post-human can bring in the world.
Final format:
The final result of my project will be a series of renders.
Thesis: Moral Duality of Technology
Human technology is a power so potent that, if taken to the extreme, could make us nearly divine, complete with extreme longevity, strength, health, and intelligence. While many argue over whether technology is good or evil, it is our choices as to what we do with this technology that will determine whether we become angels or demons. Such technology could just as easily move us closer to nature as it could separate us from it.
Additional Research
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGjMUw03Bv0
I watched Francesca Ferrando’s talk on “Humans, Cyborgs, and Posthumans” and found her definition of the post-human to be particularly unbiased. I appreciate that she looked at how the definition of human has transformed and been contested throughout human history as opposed to assuming that everyone agrees upon a definition of humanity. She points out that throughout time there have been those we would clearly classify today as human who were thought of as non-humans or incomplete humans (witches, slaves, “deformed” people). After acknowledging that humanity itself is very definition/dependent, she defines post-humanism as that which is “beyond what has been historically portrayed as human”. This definition of the post-human allows it to be a more transitional/fluid concept than a hard distinction, which is far more fitting with the idea of technological human enhancement.
The piece will be presented as a series of renders (printed out on photo-paper if possible.
The advances in technology allow people to achieve new heights and unlock unprecedented potential. The integration of the body with technology will also further increase the gap between the wealthy and the less fortunate. The future will hold many questions pertaining to the advantages of using technology to improve human performance.
Research:
The subject of comparing an augmented body to a normal human body has already been a topic of issue. Oscar Pistorius, an Olympian runner, was subjected to this controversy. Some people saw his cheetah legs as an advantage over his able bodied competitors. This proves that a future with technology giving people unfair advantages is imminent.
As a biomedical engineer, I find that connecting the body directly to technology to be inspiring and a definite positive. Living in a society where a physically disabled person can compete on an Olympian level is astounding. Currently technology can return a normal life to these people, but in the future, with further improvements, it can give them new capabilities.
If new developments lead to a higher potential, normal able bodied people will start to harness the technology to gain an advantage. In the movie, i, Robot, Will Smith’s character has a neural prosthetic arm. His arm gives him much more strength than any other human. He is able to protect himself and fight off the stronger robot with his own robotic arm.
This technology would change the world of sports. Oscar Pistorius was able to run because his legs were deemed that they did not give him an advantage. If he had modifications that made his legs better, then would he still be able to run? Where is the line drawn?
The final result will be a series of renders showing an augmented body and a natural body competing in sports.
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The posthuman is not postmaterial
Thesis:
Both positive and negative views of “posthumanism” have a fatal flaw: they assume the total annihilation of stubborn matter into either pure information, or new forms of matter that can be reconfigured so easily and arbitrarily that they are as close to information as makes no difference. All that is solid melts into nanobots. This is either triumph (immortality through uploading consciousness! the end of material scarcity through instant fabrication!) or tragedy (the world dissolves into grey goo!)
For this project, I want to argue that these predictions are badly off the mark. Materiality is not going away at all, rather simply changing. New forms of human existence will have access to new technological powers, but those powers will remain mediated by material, subject to flaws, errors, unintended consequences. To explore this, I will creatively explore some of the material qualities of existing technological systems: the 3d printer and the kinect.
I imagine this project as a series of 3d prints, some captured by the kinect, all demonstrating something particular and material about either the sensor or the printer. For example, emphasizing the polygon structure of the kinect scan, or the filament deposition method of the printer.
I’m still thinking about how exactly to best make this compelling, and would love ideas, directions for experimentation, etc from the class.
The Thesis:
Though we have not quite reached the phase where humans have physically converted to a makeup reliant upon technology, a world of humans who have transitioned to that stage may be a possibility for the future. We are already losing our connection to nature with the development of technologies, which only expedites our track towards the post-human. When that day comes it will likely sustain for a while, but will eventually result in a battle of nature versus the developments of this new age in an attempt to take back and preserve humanity.
The Research:
Nature vs. Technology – Brian Lam
While this project harnesses a concentration in the post-human, an article by Brian Lam discusses the idea of the post-natural, perhaps a branch of post-humanism. He argues that the continued development of technology has led to humans becoming less connected with nature, in most cases almost entirely cut off from it. As a starting example, while people used to crack open the window at night to let in a cool breeze of air and enjoy the sounds of nature, the invention of air-conditioning has eliminated a need for this. And with the luxuries of computers and televisions and cell phones people are less likely to take the time to appreciate the natural wilderness that surrounds them and instead opt for more immediate options of leisure. A good point made in the article goes as follows:
Louv believes that, “one price of progress is seldom mentioned: a diminished life of the senses” (666 “A Life”). People begin to lose their natural senses the more they rely on electronics and machines to do the work for them. America has immersed itself in technology and, in exchange, lost its close relationship with nature.
Nature rouses the senses and makes life worth living, but with the developments of technology, a life of comfort and convenience come to be more appealing and people start to lose interest in nature. This may have a serious psychological effect on humanity, and also poses a threat to the younger generations. Children these days are more prone to playing video game rather than outside. They are easily influenced by their surroundings, especially when they interact with it, so it is important for a child to spend the time to connect with nature because it is a critical point in their life when their mind is developing. By experiencing the outdoors, they can get dirty, learn new skills, and appreciate what nature contributes to spurring the imagination.
This connection with nature is important, and with this disconnect we are losing a piece of our humanity. Arguably, this has contributed to the development of a world that we consider to be post-human. I like to think that nature will have its way in the end, that no technology can contest with the forces of the natural world. And so, that is what my project will explore. The taking back of the world by nature, once post-humanism has run its course.
http://envarticles.blogspot.com/p/brian-lam-nature-vs-technology.html
When Nature and Technology Combine (Educational Documentary)
This video explores how nature has influenced technology, specifically the technology of movement–how we’ve learned how to fly by observing birds, and how robots are being designed to mimic the quick movements of insects and crabs, and master the ability to stick to walls like frogs and geckos. While the documentary only discusses the use of these natural movements in regards to vehicles and robots, it can be applied to the posthuman idea of altering the body to move more efficiently. It is ironic that nature inspires these notions of technology, since the deveopments of this technology has led to a disinterest in the nature from whence it came. Another idea to explore in my project is the idea that nature has been spurned by this use and neglect. It has inspired so many technologies, yet can be so easily ignored by the average human being. What happens when it decides to seek vengeance? When it decides to take back what it has given?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sz_xfKlMSA
The Plan:
I envision a 3D print for my final project (possibly with a few renderings) depicting the struggle of technology vs. nature.
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Nick Tacca, Project 2 Thesis
Thesis statement: (Relates to 2.)
In the distant future, humans will be able to explore the universe through multiple surrogates controlled by their own mind. They will have the ability to simultaneously experience life through any robot, animal, or being for eternity.
Additional Research:
Physicist Michio Kaku states that in the distant future there is the possibility that humans will be able to have their brains uploaded on a memory disk. He goes on saying that we could then put our consciousness on a laser beam and send it into outer space at the speed of light to explore the universe. A relay station could then be placed on the other end, which allows for us to relay our consciousness into whatever being or surrogate we choose. As a result, humans could become a super human through a surrogate robot, or potentially a tiny animal at the bottom of the ocean. Humans will have the ability to select from various surrogates at each relay station. In addition, there is the potential for the consciousness to be split, so that you are controlling multiple surrogates at one time.
Already, we are making huge progress in this field. In the upcoming World Cup, a paralyzed teen will wear an exoskeleton suit and kick a soccer ball for the first time to begin the opening game of the tournament. It takes his physical thoughts of moving his leg forward, and then translates that into mechanical motion of an exoskeleton robot suit. In addition, researchers are investigating ways in which the teen will “feel” the ball hit his foot when he kicks it. A current pulse will be sent to electrodes directly to his brain, which stimulates neurons that fire, indicating a physical contact sensation within his/her brain. This leads us to believe that humans may potentially be able to control bodies in a remote location and feel and experience exactly what they are experiencing.
Lastly, there is an article on Livescience, which talks about the ability for humans to possibly one day obtain immortality. Current neural engineering efforts have been focused on restoring function to individuals with neurological dysfunction. Some more research has been focused on a brain memory device to help people recall short-term memories for a very long time. At the end of the article, they mentioned the term “mind-clones”, in which humans may have the ability to create digital versions of themselves that can live forever.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUUl3YPDcAE
http://www.livescience.com/37499-immortality-by-2045-conference.html
Plan:
I envision the final result to be a series of renders that portray one instant in time from multiple different perspectives in various surrogate suits.
Categories
Makehuman, Blender, T-Splines
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Rabbit Stopper
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Son Pham – Genghis Khan riding his horse
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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!
Taking rock, paper, and scissors to new places
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Son Pham – Bunny Cork/Shot Glass
