YOU ARE A
CYBORG:
SOCIETY REDEFINED BY THE INTEGRATION OF MAN AND TECHNOLOGY
A DOCUMENTARY
What do you think of when you hear the word "cyborg?"
In today's media and technological landscape, quick clips and short news stories showcasing new gadgets and "wow factor" tech often leave us intrigued but rarely make us skeptical. Science fiction teaches us to fear that the "robots are taking over," but maybe this isn't such a radical idea after all...
And as tech increasingly creeps its way into our minds and bodies, the producers of this film believe that it is important to stop and question the larger impacts of this. It's easy to see the many incredible ways that technology is revolutionizing work and medicine - think about how far we've come with prosthetics. But what happens when technology develops beyond function, and we move to a phase of human history where we augment our bodies beyond nature? First it's Google Glasses, then Google Contacts, then maybe Google Eyeballs!
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But where do we draw the line?
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When we incorporate technology into our bodies, do we lose some of our humanness?
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How do we redefine ideas of justice and citizenship?
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We need to ask these questions NOW, before we get to a "point of no return," which is why a film like ours is so imperative and timely. Use this site to follow the creation of our documentary, a long-form piece that encourages people like YOU to question the technology in your daily life. As you scroll through the site, be sure to check out updates and trailers for the final piece, to be released in early April.
UPDATES
As we are in the beginning phases of our documentary, we don't have footage to share yet. We will, however, share status updates of our project regularly. Check back for teasers, trailers, and highlight clips coming soon!
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Fall 2019
So far, we've interviewed five people: Josh Bongard, Thomas Dickerson, Katheryn Wright, John Cohn, and Nick Cheney. See below to learn more about each of them and to hear more about what they had to contribute to our film.
Josh Bongard
Thomas Dickerson
Katheryn Wright
John Cohn
Nick Cheney
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January 2020
This month we interviewed three people: Amal Graafstra, Natasha Vita-More, and Anastasia Synn. See below to learn more about each of them and to hear more about what they had to contribute to our film.
A Brown University PhD graduate and founder and chief science officer of his own company, Geopipe, Dickerson had many perspectives from the computer science and artificial intelligence angle.
Katheryn Wright is a professor working in the Core Division of Education, Human Studies, and Psychology at Champlain College in Vermont. She teaches courses on the self and the body and has a PhD in Media Studies.
An IBM Fellow based at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge, MA, Cohn has a true passion and interest for designing, creating, and inventing. His many years of experience and skill in the field of AI and robotic technology gave him valuable perspectives.
Nick Cheney is a research assistant and associate professor at the University of Vermont. His research involves using biological systems to design machine learning algorithms for artificial neural networks.
A professor of computer science at the University of Vermont, Bongard's areas of expertise include evolutionary robotics, evolutionary computation, physical simulation. He runs the Morphology, Evolution & Cognition Laboratory at UVM.
Amal Graafstra
Amal is the CEO and founder of Dangerous Things, a biotechnology company that sells RFID and NFC implants, wearables, and tools for implementation. He is also the founder and CEO of VivoKey technologies, which is a similar company that sells implantable chips and the VivoKey Identity Services that allows you to load data onto these chips.
Natasha Vita-More
Natasha is the Executive Director of Humanity+, an international organization which advocates the ethical use of emerging technologies to enhance human capacities. Vita-More, Ph.D. is a Professor at the University of Advancing Technology.
Anastasia Synn
Anastasia is a stunt and magic performer, transhumanist and biohacker located in Las Vegas. At this point in time, she is the most implanted human in the world. She showed us some of her implants and how she uses them in magic, and also talked about her experiences fighting for biohacking in front of the Nevada State Legislature.
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February 2020
February was a huge month for interviews and research. So far, we've interviewed David Li, Tim Cannon, Rickard Braanemark, Jeff Finklestein, and Ryan O'Shea. See below to learn more about each of them and to hear more about what they had to contribute to our film.
David Li
David is the founder of Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab, a digital, intelligent innovation laboratory for technological innovation, knowledge sharing, creative exchange and collaborative creation located in China. David has participated in open source movement since 1990, and he is the member of Free Software Foundation.
Tim Cannon
Tim is the CEO of Livestock Labs, a company testing an implantable health tracker for livestock, with the hope of one day using this technology on humans. Tim is a biohacker himself with several implants. He had a lot to say about the future of biohacking and the human consciousness.
Rickard Braanemark
Rickard is a Research Scientist at MIT in the biomechatronics lab. He is currently working on an osseointegrated prosthesis with bi-directional neural communication, what he called a "smart implant."
Jeff Finklestein
Jeff is the President and Principal Development Engineer at Microprocessor Designs, an electrical engineering and product design consulting group in Shelburne, VT. Jeff took us on a tour of the office and told us a little bit about their projects as they relate to our topic.
Ryan O'Shea
Ryan is the founder and host of Future Grind, which is a podcast that explores the ethics and impact behind emerging science technology. He is also an advisor and spokesman for Grindhouse Wetware, an organization focused on technology that augments human capabilities.
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
This is not a topic to be taken lightly. No matter where you live, how old you are, what your race, gender, ethnicity, or status is, YOUR LIFE will be (or already is) affected by technology. Ideas about evolution, global access, humanity, ethics, and many other topics will be explored as it relates to the average person's daily life.
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Our story moves around New England, from Boston to Vermont, and will travel longer (virtual) distances as well. We hope to follow personal experiences, interview experts, and use professional-level visual storytelling to show you why we believe in exploring this topic, and why you should too.
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OUR
TEAM
ISABELLA CIGNA
A senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Art major at Saint Michael's College, Bella has been interested in media and technology since the beginning of college. This interest grew as she picked up mathematics and data science minors along the way. She is now exploring careers in data analytics and digital marketing as she prepares to enter the workforce. Check out her other projects and experiences and feel free to reach out to learn more!
Here's a little bit about each of the producers of the film.
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SIERRA CASE
A senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts major and Psychology minor at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. Sierra has always had an interest in art and design and quickly became interested in media and technology after taking her first few classes at St. Mike’s. She’s worked on projects that have combined all her interests and is excited about future careers in this field.
STEPHEN HIGGINS
A senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts major with a Studio Art minor at Saint Michael's College, Stephen specializes in Videography and Photography. As a technological and traditional artist, he has a passion for capturing, creating, and sharing art in all forms. With a keen eye for production quality and aesthetics, Stephen seeks to produce professional-grade work in each assignment.
GET IN
TOUCH
Have insight/experience into this subject?
Know someone who does?
Willing to be interviewed?
Box 2340
Saint Michael's College
1 Winooski Park
Colchester, VT 05439
“The legal system is totally unprepared for this, journalism is totally unprepared for this, your grandma who watches Fox News is totally unprepared for this. It will put us into a post-truth society.”
- Thomas Dickerson