D4TC: A Cyborg Manifesto

‘Late 20th century machines have made thoroughly ambiguous the difference between natural and artificial mind and body’ - Donna Haraway

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Wow, Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto"….. Damn! Did I read all of it… no. Is my mind blown by what I did read… yes.

From what I read, Haraway tackles the idea of boundaries between human, cyborgs, and machines. As these three fields slowly start to blend together through the advancement of 20th century technology we begin to question what is human. After reading a bit of this Manifesto, the fact that a cyborg is the halfway point between machine and human has really resonated with me. In general we live in such a binary world. A world of ‘yes, no, 0, 1, right, wrong’. This mentality has tainted this planet since its birth. The idea of having something in the middle, or simply another option makes this idea of cyborgs seem progressive in a positive way. But Haraway reminds me the immense dangers that come with cyborgs.

‘The cyborg is a condensed image of both imagination and material reality’

‘The main trouble with cyborgs, of course, is that they are the illegitimate offspring of militarism and patriarchal capitalism. No to mention state socialism’

This is a dangerous blend. We are not just blending the line between human, animal, and machine, but also the physical and non physical, the reality and the imaginary, the need for connectivity and total independence. Haraway’s manifesto has played a large role in my understanding that not all boundaries, barriers, boxes are wrong.

As soon as you start to self-identify as a human, animal, cyborg, or AI you are immediately put into these pre-existing boxes. Labeled without even desiring or agreeing with the label. Prior to reading this manifesto, I was set on proving that these boundaries and unwelcomed labels are simply wrong, but now I see the importance of boundaries when addressing the world of technology which is inevitably all around us. I recently started to explore the idea of boundaries, both mental and physical. Diving more into mental barriers my focus started to shift and I became obsessed with finding ‘why’ certain mental barriers exist. As I continue my studies, I want to explore why societal boundaries and boxes exist. Buy analyzing data and the usage of surveillance, I will see if these two things are refining and defining these boxes. Having since read part of this manifesto, boundaries might not be all bad.

I'll end with this. The idea of there being a fusion between human | animal | and machine is utterly terrifying.

... but then again, are we already at that point?