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Technology and art relate more to each other than you might think. Art mimics life. And it’s an understatement to say that technology is changing the way we live. The Transhumanist movement embraces technologies like cognitive science, cryonics, artificial intelligence and biotechnology—the same forces that are bringing about profound physical and societal change. And as technology advances, so do our visions of the future. But what truths do these visions represent? Humans are extending current biological limitations, and in the next few decades what it means to be human might change considerably. Check out these cool photos below to get a Transhumanist and artistic slant on what the future may hold.
Synthetic Wombs by Unknown Artist
Artificial wombs? Not so far-fetched. We already have the ability to keep donor hearts pumping externally with nutrient-rich oxygenated blood before transplants are performed. That’s mind-blowing.
Cyborg Man by Benedict Campbell
Believe it or not, this guy has a lot in common with former cyborg Kevin Warwick, the professor at Reading University in England who wired his nervous system to control a robotic hand on the other side of the Atlantic. Warwick is already putting animal brain cells into robots as a control system.
"Dying Race" by Joachim Luetke
"Dystopia" by Joachim Luetke
"Kov Seti" by Joachim Luetke
The only thing creepier than a baby robot named Diego-San is a cyborg fetus with no name. It’s an interesting concept that before long we might be incubating our unborn children in tanks, but we might want to think about what that means for population control and the Super Bowl first.
"The Map Is Not the Territory" by Kate Clark
We can’t find a single reason to make a human-gazelle hybrid, but fusing animals and humans (however frightening the concept may be) could be good for something. Couldn’t it?
"da Vinci Transhuman" by Unknown Artist
Advertisement from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
"Cyberneticus" by Jana Doležálka
It’s only a matter of time before we start digging up skeletons of robots past. With all of these robot dogs walking around and being taught new tricks, how long will it take for robots to adopt other more efficient animal designs?
"Frustration Attraction" by Heidi Taillefer
"The Wolves of Prejudice" by Heidi Taillefer
"Future Plug" by Unknown Artist
"InterFace" by Conzpiracy
"diag modeside" by Dominic Elvin
Robot Housekeeper by Unknown Artist
Robot at Work by Unknown Artist
With stunning achievement’s like Toyota’s robot violinist, it’s no wonder that someday soon we’ll have robot assistants helping us with formulas, figures and other tasks at work. This paradigm could be a catalyst for a new robot population, complete with legal rights and an education and housing system.
Image courtesy DeviantArt.com
We all have some sort of anxiety surrounding death. But what if we could cheat it? Would we still be afraid of it? We now have a neural interface that allows our brain impulses to control wheelchairs, computer cursors and robotic body parts. This could be profound for those of us who want to live beyond death.
Bottom line: Transhumanism isn’t fantasy, but a far-looking aesthetic based on real technologies. Whether or not you’re a Transhumanist, future society and all of the potential it brings does seem exciting. Now all we need is a box that keeps our brain working long enough for a cyborg transplant. Sounds routine enough.
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Jun. 7th, 2010
Technology and art relate more to each other than you might think. Art mimics life. And it’s an understatement to say that technology is changing the way we live. The Transhumanist movement embraces technologies like cognitive science, cryonics, artificial intelligence and biotechnology—the same forces that are bringing about profound physical and societal change. And as technology advances, so do our visions of the future. But what truths do these visions represent? Humans are extending current biological limitations, and in the next few decades what it means to be human might change considerably. Check out these cool photos below to get a Transhumanist and artistic slant on what the future may hold.
Synthetic Wombs by Unknown Artist
Artificial wombs? Not so far-fetched. We already have the ability to keep donor hearts pumping externally with nutrient-rich oxygenated blood before transplants are performed. That’s mind-blowing.
Cyborg Man by Benedict Campbell
Believe it or not, this guy has a lot in common with former cyborg Kevin Warwick, the professor at Reading University in England who wired his nervous system to control a robotic hand on the other side of the Atlantic. Warwick is already putting animal brain cells into robots as a control system.
"Dying Race" by Joachim Luetke
"Dystopia" by Joachim Luetke
"Kov Seti" by Joachim Luetke
The only thing creepier than a baby robot named Diego-San is a cyborg fetus with no name. It’s an interesting concept that before long we might be incubating our unborn children in tanks, but we might want to think about what that means for population control and the Super Bowl first.
"The Map Is Not the Territory" by Kate Clark
We can’t find a single reason to make a human-gazelle hybrid, but fusing animals and humans (however frightening the concept may be) could be good for something. Couldn’t it?
"da Vinci Transhuman" by Unknown Artist
Advertisement from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
"Cyberneticus" by Jana Doležálka
It’s only a matter of time before we start digging up skeletons of robots past. With all of these robot dogs walking around and being taught new tricks, how long will it take for robots to adopt other more efficient animal designs?
"Frustration Attraction" by Heidi Taillefer
"The Wolves of Prejudice" by Heidi Taillefer
"Future Plug" by Unknown Artist
"InterFace" by Conzpiracy
"diag modeside" by Dominic Elvin
Robot Housekeeper by Unknown Artist
Robot at Work by Unknown Artist
With stunning achievement’s like Toyota’s robot violinist, it’s no wonder that someday soon we’ll have robot assistants helping us with formulas, figures and other tasks at work. This paradigm could be a catalyst for a new robot population, complete with legal rights and an education and housing system.
Image courtesy DeviantArt.com
We all have some sort of anxiety surrounding death. But what if we could cheat it? Would we still be afraid of it? We now have a neural interface that allows our brain impulses to control wheelchairs, computer cursors and robotic body parts. This could be profound for those of us who want to live beyond death.
Bottom line: Transhumanism isn’t fantasy, but a far-looking aesthetic based on real technologies. Whether or not you’re a Transhumanist, future society and all of the potential it brings does seem exciting. Now all we need is a box that keeps our brain working long enough for a cyborg transplant. Sounds routine enough.
ShareRelated Posts:
Three years ago in a moment of introspection I realized that the two things in my life that are most meaningful and contribute most to my emotional well-being are my marriage and myJewish identity. At the time I was looking for work in journalism and my wife asked me "If you could write about any topic what would it be?" I replied without thinking twice, "I'd interview Jewish-American couples about the their Jewish identities and their marriages."
That concept initially took the form of a book project, I Am My Beloved's: Jewish-American Couples Talk About Their Marriages. Over the next couple of years I interviewed and photographed about a dozen couples and my co-author interviewed another three. Of these fifteen couples twelve were living in the Boston to Washington, DC megalopolis, half of that dozen in the greater New York metropolitan area.
After having our book proposal and sample chapters turned down by about a dozen publishing houses the project is now morphing into The Jewish-American Marriage Oral History Project, an on-line archive of interviews of Jewish-American couples. These interviews and photographs show the diversity of the Jewish-American community. In future examiner.com articles I plan to publish some of these interviews.
There has been much discussion in the Jewish-American community about continuity, much of which has focused on education. But if parents work long hours to earn day school tuitions and have little time to spend with their children how does that help? My hunch is that the quality of Jewish marriages is an under-explored factor in Jewish continuity. As we say on the The Jewish-American Marriage Oral History Project's home page:
Tribal membership and conjugal partnerships both offer emotionally salutary feelings of belonging. Are there any synergies when both life partners belong to the same tribe? Maybe, maybe not, but show us someone who is alienated and estranged from his or her tribe and odds are that his or her parents had an unhealthy and dysfunctional marriage. More specifically, children of Jewish parents who have strong, healthy marriages are more likely to develop positive Jewish identities.
What do healthy Jewish marriages look like? They are demographically diverse: religious and secular, gay and straight, urban/suburban and rural, monogamous and polyamorous, first marriages and second marriages, passionate couples and companionate couples, able bodied and disabled, teachers and techies, artists and professionals, Jews from birth and Jews by choice, native born and foreign born, parents and child-free by choice, parents of able-bodied children and parents of disabled children.
The Jewish-American Marriage Oral History Project will be a repository of interviews and photographs of Jewish-American couples; a selection of these will be published as "I Am My Beloved's: Jewish-American Couples Talk About their Marriages" in the form of either a book, an e-book, and/or a website. "I Am My Beloved's," a work in progress, is a collection of interviews and photographs of Jewish-American couples that explores the intersection of each couple's identities as a couple and as Jews. "I Am My Beloved's" will include the voices and images of a wide range of couples reflecting the diversity of the Jewish-American community.
The Labor Department today reported that the U.S. economy gained 431,000 jobs in May and that the jobless rate dropped to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent in April.
"Regular unemployment is what happens in a normal recession, when companies lay off workers for a short period of time and then hire them back when the economy recovers," says Edward Stuart, an economics professor at Northeastern Illinois University.
This time, however, tight credit markets and weak consumer spending have dried up company finances, making it very difficult for them to add new workers.
In addition, the recession has hit some industries -- such as construction and manufacturing -- especially hard, which means that workers in those areas might find it almost impossible to land another job in their sector.
Our friend Dale Rosenberg was interviewed for this article. She's been looking for work for 10 months without success.
The Labor Department today reported that the U.S. economy gained 431,000 jobs in May and that the jobless rate dropped to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent in April.
"Regular unemployment is what happens in a normal recession, when companies lay off workers for a short period of time and then hire them back when the economy recovers," says Edward Stuart, an economics professor at Northeastern Illinois University.
This time, however, tight credit markets and weak consumer spending have dried up company finances, making it very difficult for them to add new workers.
In addition, the recession has hit some industries -- such as construction and manufacturing -- especially hard, which means that workers in those areas might find it almost impossible to land another job in their sector.
Our friend Dale Rosenberg was interviewed for this article. She's been looking for work for 10 months without success.