Sunday, October 7, 2012

Humans and Technology


I have to say that I'm pretty convinced that in a future (not that far away) we will look at "cyborgs" in the same way we look at laptops and smartphones nowadays. To me it only makes sense. Man created computers to help him evolve, to become more optimized and efficient, and now that we have the means for it, it simply seems natural to go in that direction - where Man and machine get connected more deeply than ever.

With the information overload we are currently facing, having a computer available at all times that can promptly analise large amounts of data and compute wherever we want right on the spot, in order to help us make better decisions, would be of great help. If we think about the medical field, constantly progressing, going from the current mechanical prosthetics to mechanical prosthetics that can be controlled by the person who wears them, does not seem that far away either.

Of course, with this kind of symbiotic relationship between humans and machine, the interfaces as we know them now will most likely disappear, since acquiring data would be done directly. Like Vannevar Bush said: "All our steps in creating or absorbing material of the record proceed through one of the senses—the tactile when we touch keys, the oral when we speak or listen, the visual when we read. Is it not possible that some day the path may be established more directly?". I agree that it is possible. In fact it has already been done, at least by Professor Kevin Warwick (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa8bcs_kevin-warwick-implant-technology-li_tech).

Concept Map
References

Licklider, J. C. R. (1960). Man-Computer Symbiosis. Ire Transactions On Human Factors In Electronics. IEEE. Retrieved from http://groups.csail.mit.edu/medg/people/psz/Licklider.html

Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. (N. Wardrip-Fruin & N. Montfort, Eds.)interactions3(2), 35-46. Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=227181.227186