From Man and Computer to Man-Computer; The entangled future of humans and technology

 From Man and Computer to Man-Computer; The entangled future of humans and technology

Known for his 360 degree VR animations and other creative incorporation of technology into his works, abstract artist and author Christoph Niemann became the creator of yet another cover of The New Yorker with the publication of its September 30, 2019 issue featuring “Evolution.” At a glance, the cover chronicles human interaction with the increasingly smaller and more powerful computers of history as well as one speculative or perhaps interpretive frame that seems to come straight from a science fiction novel. 

The included computers that have been practically employed throughout recent history include a floor-to-ceiling computer from the sixties, a smaller, yet still clunky desktop computer from the eighties, and a light and flexible laptop from the 2000’s, all of which appear in chronological order when viewed from left to right and top to bottom (the way English is read). Despite coming from different eras, each of the aforementioned computers emits a white light and is, through a cable, connected to a power source in the wall. 

Accompanying and poking each of these computers is a man wearing a collar shirt, a black tie, black shoes, and a pair of black glasses. Amazingly, the man, who each time is bent at the hip or neck in order to stare at the monitor or screen, is unaffected by the impression of passing time, perhaps serving as a nod to how technology has, in a literal sense, evolved before our eyes.

The man can be seen once again donning the same attire in the final frame, the anomaly that has yet to be described. What makes it an anomaly? Well for starters, where there was once two entities (a man and a computer), there now appears to be only one entity (a man). In the place of the missing computer, the man has adopted the computer’s signature characteristics; the man emits a white light, and he is plugged into the wall. The result: 

a hybrid of man and computer (a man-computer?)

Beyond the moral dilemmas that this might pose, there are some more obvious or immediate issues suggested by the metaphors and symbolism of the fourth frame. For example, a man-computer’s power is dependent upon or at least abetted by a connection to an external power source. Surely, the use of computers has afforded humanity many powers like self-braking cars, mind-blowing digital effects, and even the expression of art in 360 degree VR animations, but it has also made humans more reliant and dependent upon the devices they use every day. 

As the man's straightened posture might suggest, granting humans the capability of a computer would make them stronger, more powerful individuals. A preliminary form of such a technology, Neuralink, not only already exists, but it has been marketed as a hypothetical cure for blindness, memory loss, and mental illnesses. But how might internalizing computer technology affect human dependency on technology in the future? Will humans become less human? Will my son be able to watch porn in his head? What about my husband, can he watch porn too? That certainly can't be good for our marriage...The questions are innumerable.

However, consider for a moment that humans, like all species, have, over time, given up existing traits for those that are more favorable. Small mutations that increase an individuals probability of surviving long enough to reproduce accumulate over generations, and consequently traits that best help a species overcome the challenges and pressures of life are those that are naturally selected for. Perhaps framing the discussion in terms of power and dependence is all wrong. Perhaps, there is a more natural phenomenon at play. Even if you may disagree that endowing humans with the power of computers will create the ideal being, it is hard to argue that it would not create a human best suited for the challenges and pressures of the modern world.

And so, in a world were learning, commerce, conversation, entertainment, and design are conducted digitally largely out of ease and profitability, humanity has encouraged itself to change into a form that's not unrecognizable, but one that's evolved.