Week 5: The Digital Mind/Body

WEEK 5

TOPIC:  The Digital Mind and Body:

Introduction: Thinking about this topic is a reminder of what Flew said about Ubiquitous Technology as to the rate at which technological devices are widely spread and interlocked among various networks with multidimensional functions infused in our daily lives. (Flew, T. 2005).  This is made possible via series of concepts which I will like to mention below.

Key Concepts: Some of the key concepts discussed in class include:

·         The robot,

·         Artificial Life (Alife),

The Robot:  (Cerf, V. 2013) described Robots to be useful engines. He also drew our attention to what (Isaac Asimov) the science imaginary author said concerning Robots on ‘the interconnection of robots and programming enhancement influencing human bodies with concrete results  and the clear contrast between processor hypermedia manufacturing company and cybernetics  in terms associating with the immediate environment. Robots as situated objects on the other hand can be seen as man-made in-organic beings that act upon pre-arranged commands and not on nonrepresentational information.(Rodney, Brookes.2002).

ALife: The making and learning of realistic creatures and methods is what artificial life focuses on. Artificial Life is made of synthetics for the purpose of communication. These modern systems came out as a result of computers. Ecologists and processor experts are hopeful in making computerized human beings the same way the intellectuals in the medical field devised artificial environment for living organisms. (Steven Levy).

Critical Thinkers:

·         John Steven’s research on Emergence indicates that it is a state of imagining how complicated systems could be born out of easy conversations with no preparation. (John Steven)

·         John, McCarthy. (1956) saw Artificial Intelligence as the act of employing both theoretical and practical knowledge to manufacture brainy equipment.

Contemporary Issues Arising:  One obvious issue confronting the artificial world is the medical implications of electrical rays in the destruction of cells in the body. (. Another point to note is the serious side effects that come after undergoing plastic surgeries. The body part transplant trauma is yet another factor that should not be overlooked. (Ija, A. 2012) and  (Paul, D.M. 2013) respectively.

Critical Questions: The emergence and adoption of New Technologies in all aspects of human life and performing sensitive roles in strategic positions in place of a man in recent times had giving rise to several questions. Are Machines taking the place of humans?. In an attempt to answering that question, the researcher opined that “Our daily lives are pre-dominantly occupied by smart phones and at present, they are important tools in the hands of customers as signs of attaining social status, do business, gain knowledge, get information and as communication enhancer. This however has extended to the younger generation as well”. (Merchant,Guys. 2012).

Liu, Allen (2012) among many researchers gave cogent analyses on how the study of the Digital state of  humanity did not only concentrate on how to enhance human labor but also how technology can mainly take the place of man in dynamic ways to fit into the advanced level of learning and emerging high-Tech companies.

The use of Three-Dimensional Machine in enhancing human lives as regards heart transplant and the likes is another welcome development.( Moceri, Pamela. 2012)  

In contrast of the this case study, this piece of writing shows the significance in Simmel’s attitude towards life. He supported the Irony behind the pre-existence of a person in fluid form, into an individual and that, living and dying is inevitable to everything that has breath. (Pyyhtinen, Olli. 2012),  (Kevin Warwick 2006).

In buttressing the previous argument, Polanyi also bore his mind on the “Irreducible Structure of Life” by saying “despite how clear physical science and interaction justify their claims on the inferior procedural stages of life, it still cannot fundamentally spell out the general development and complex philosophy guiding animate creatures.” See also Roger Faber (1986) and Robert Faber (2007).

In summary, it is pertinent to note at this juncture that technology has come to stay and will continue to develop and infused into human minds, activities, and environment and bodies to the extent that separating the two will be quite challenging. The claims of Researchers on the negative impact of robots on the society ( Ng, Parry P.W. 2012)   cannot in anyway be compared  to the benefits that come with it. (Yucel, Gulcin. 2012) and (Ng, Parry  P.W.)

In conclusion, the use of Robots should be encouraged because of the indescribable roles it had played in industries and to individuals at large. It is a boost for industrial productivity, life supporter, detector and intelligence information source, useful tool in times of war to protect territories and will still be more helpful especially during anticipated wars that might happen due to political crises in the world but It will be fairer if the consistent use of Robots will not displace people from not being employed.

Possible Literature Avenues: Articles and Books were sourced in and outside the University of Bedfordshire Library. Conference and peer reviewed materials were taking from same sources.

Possible Multimedia: Computers, Drones, Industrial Robots, Bomb Disposals.  

Website:( Heart Transplant) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDXsjM23_E

Books:   Flew, Terry. (2005). New Media: Introduction. South Melbourne, Vic :Oxford University Press.

Journal Articles:

 Cerf, Vinton G. Communications of the ACM. Jan2013, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p7-7. 1p. DOI: 10.1145/2398356.2398358. , Database: Business Source Premier.

 Iji  Ayobami, B; Zhu, Forest; Heimlich, Michael; Dutkiewicz, Eryk. 2012 International Symposium on Communications & Information Technologies (ISCIT) , 1/ 1/2012, p139-142, 4p. Publisher: IEEE.

References:

 Cerf, Vinton G. Communications of the ACM. Jan2013, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p7-7. 1p. DOI: 10.1145/2398356.2398358. , Database: Business Source Premier

 Iji  Ayobami, B; Zhu, Forest; Heimlich, Michael; Dutkiewicz, Eryk. 2012 International Symposium on Communications & Information Technologies (ISCIT) , 1/ 1/2012, p139-142, 4p. Publisher: IEEE.

Life, Death and Individualism:   Pyyhtinen Structure of Life by , Olli. Theory, Culture & Society , Dec2012, Vol. 29 Issue 7/8, p78-100, 23p. Publisher: Sage Publications.

Liu, Alan. Arts & Humanities in Higher Education, Feb2012, Vol. 11 Issue 1/2, p8-41, 34p. Publisher: Sage Publications. )

  

Kevin Warwick;Virginie Ruiz. In Artificial Neural Networks (ICANN 2006) / Engineering of Intelligent Systems (ICEIS 2006),Neurocomputing. 71(13):2619-2624 Language: English. DOI: 10.1016/j.neucom.2007.06.017, Database: ScienceDirect Merchant, Guy. British Journal of Educational Technology. Sep2012, Vol. 43 Issue 5, p770-782. 13p. 1 Color Photograph, 1 Chart. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01352.x.

Moceri, Pamela; Doyen, Denis; Bertora, David; Cerboni, Pierre; Ferrari, Emile; Gibelin, Pierre; Echocardiography, 2012 Sep; 29 (8): 970-7. (journal article - research, tables/charts) ISSN: 0742-2822 PMID: 22563905, Database: CINAHL Plus with Full Text.

Polanyi Polanyi, Michael; Goldstein, Jeffrey. Emergence: Complexity & Organization.2012, Vol. 14 Issue 4, p139-153. 15p. , Database: Business Source Premier

   Flew, Terry. (2005). New Media: Introduction. South Melbourne, Vic. :Oxford University Press xvi, 304 p. ; 23 cm. 

Yucel, Gulcin. International Journal of Production Research. Jan2012, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p161-176. 16p. DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2011.571452. , Database: Business Source Premier Gutmann, Jens-Steffen; Culp, Kristen; Munich, Mario E.; Pirjanian, Paolo. 2012 IEEE Workshop on Advanced Robotics & its Social Impacts (ARSO) , 1/ 1/2012, p50-53, 4p. Publisher: IEEE.