The days of Robo Cop and Bionic Woman may no longer be the days of science fiction. All around us new technologies are becoming extensions of ourselves; consequently becoming symbiotic hosts and the dependence on each other is ever growing. This trend can be observed in the transportation and even health sectors.
It all started when our legs were traded for a new technology: the wheel. The automobile has become an extension of man’s legs providing the link from a destination in his head to the rotating wheels beneath him hence, combining man and machine as one symbiotic unit. Man relies on machine to transport him and the completion of this task results in the machine’s needs of fuel and maintenance being taken care of by man. This phenomenon can be observed all over the world since the dawn alternate transportation. Therefore it is evident that machines have become extensions of man in order to symbiotically benefit both sides.
Additionally, technology has become integrated with our internal structure. Today with health science, humans have learned how to live in unison with machines. My friend who was completely deaf can know here up to five times better than a normal human because of a hearing implant, connecting his brain with a hearing aid. Thanks to the implant, he can now learn easier and live an otherwise normal life. It is clear that as humans we are utilizing technology to benefit and change ourselves and vice versa.
Perhaps Marshall McLuhan said it best when he stated, “Now man is beginning to wear his brain on the outside of his skull and his nerves outside his skin: technology breeds new man”(McLuhan, 1995). It is clear that technologies surround us and become extensions of ourselves and therefore grow into symbiotic hosts, benefiting each other. However, the most important question arises, when will man become the extension of the machine?
(McLuhan, Marshall. Interview, By Frank Zingrone. The Essential McLuhan, 1995.)
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