Coming to Terms With Humanity's Inevitable Union With Machines

Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from ''Her'' by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures/Associated Press

By John Havens2014-04-11 12:05:50 UTC

Our robot overlords are already here.

Were just anthropomorphizing our technology in more subtle ways than wed imagined in the past. We stigmatize Theodore Twombly, Joaquin Phoenixs character in the movie, Her, as morally questionable when falling in love with his operating system, yet dont find it adulterous when the last face we look at before falling asleep belongs to our smartphone versus our soulmate.

Its time to come to grips with what it means to be human in a digital environment. That is, a fully digital or virtual environment. We can talk about unplugging from technology, but that behavior is more akin to minimizing an activity window while our relationship continues running in the background of our lives. Sensors in our phones and the innards of our globe monitor ubiquitously, broadcasting our unencrypted consciousness to the world.

Its hard not to get philosophical. Or judgmental Im genuinely struggling with the idea that well soon fully merge with machines.

As technology gains human level sentience, I need to evolve my mindset. What if my daughter wants to marry an algorithm? Can I have dinner with its parents? Can we expect to see anti robot-bullying campaigns soon? Or a reworked cover of Macklemores, SIM love?

I joke because Im conflicted. Im genuinely a bit freaked at the idea that humans and machines are already so inexorably linked. And I firmly believe that things like the wearables industry are simply intermediary technologies to mentally prepare us for our inevitable union with machines. They help reveal the personal data thats currently invisible in our lives while providing a thin, albeit fashionable, buffer between the time devices will be on our skin versus within.

My goal here is to confront my unease with this union while my identity is largely located in my cortex rather that the cloud. Im not anti-robot, as I thought I might be in the past. But the reality of transcendence with technology shouldnt be taken lightly, even if it is inevitable.

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Coming to Terms With Humanity's Inevitable Union With Machines