Transformation of Social Relations Through the Fleshy Machine
Although an integral function of the human machine, such as hearing, can fail, the technical machine can assist the human machine restore its original function to the best of its ability. In his book Rebuilt, Michael Chorost describes his journey back to the hearing world after suffering from loss of hearing due to rubella. Although the hairs in Chorost’s ear that transmitted sound were physically damaged, the nerves themselves were still intact, and could still “be triggered with implanted electrodes under computer control, which is what a cochlear implant does” (Chorost, 2006, 7). The diagram below shows a cochlear implant in the human ear, and illustrates the fusion of the material, technical hearing device and the warm, squishy, wet flesh of the human to produce the fleshy machine, a “cyborg” (Chorost, 2006, 7).
Although the computer algorithm contained by the technical machine would allow Chorost to acquire the ability to hear again, what he would hear would be mediated by the computer. Everything would sound “synthetic” (Chorost, 2006, 9). After receiving the implant, Chorost describes the technical device as a “computer inside [his] body, literally woven into [his] flesh, [his] head” (2006, 15). On its own, the cochlear implant has no function without the human machine. Likewise, the human machine, on its own, cannot produce certain functions when debilitated. However, together, these machines produce something extremely powerful. The consequent creation of the social machine, due to restored hearing, is able to produce social relations with others once again, either through real life interactions or those in multi-player online virtual worlds. However, in real life, these social relations may differ from those that would have been formed with normal hearing, as all interactions would be mediated by the social machine, rather than by the human machine itself.
Wafaa Bilal, a professor of photography at NYU, also uses and incorporates the technical machine, but to serve a different function: to enhance his ability to see. According to an article by Cnet, Bilal accepted the proposition to have “a camera implanted into the back of his head that takes shots of what is going on behind his back” for an art project called “The 3rd I” (Matyszczyk, 2010). By implanting the technical camera machine into his human machine, Balil could view what was going on behind him, an ability otherwise impossible in the absence of the camera. By becoming a cyber human, Bilal explored new social, virtual possibilities in the real world.
Note: Social input into the technical machine, which creates the social machine, can also transform social relations through virtual play and military incentives.
Citations:
Chorost, Michael. Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World (2006).
Matyszczyk, Chris. "Professor to have camera implanted in head." Cnet (2010).
Link: http://www.cnet.com/news/professor-to-have-camera-implanted-in-head/#!
