Amber Case 談我們現在都是生化機器人

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講者：Amber Case
2010年12月演講，2011年1月在TEDWomen上線
MyOOPS開放式課程
翻譯：洪曉慧
編輯：劉契良
簡繁轉換：趙弘
後製：洪曉慧
字幕影片後制：謝旻均
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Amber Case 談我們現在都是生化機器人
我想告訴大家，你們其實都是生化機器人，但不是你們認為的那種生化機器人。你們不是機器戰警、不是魔鬼終結者，但每當你們看著電腦螢幕，或用手機裝置時，就成了生化機器人。那麼，如何妥善定義生化機器人？嗯，傳統的定義是，一個有機體「被加上外部組成，以達成適應新環境之目的。」這出自1960年的太空旅行文獻。因為，想想看，太空相當令人不自在，不是人類想待的地方。但人類很好奇，喜歡在自己身體上加東加西，這樣就可以今天登阿爾卑斯山，隔天變成一條海中魚。
因此，我們來看看傳統的人類學概念。某人到另一個國家去，說：「這些人多麼迷人，他們的工具多麼有趣，他們的文化多麼奇特。」然後，他們寫了一份文獻，也許其他一些人類學家讀了，我們認為這獨具異國情調。嗯，正在發生的情況是，我們突然發現一個新物種，身為生化機器人類學家的我突然說，「喔，哇！我們突然成了新種智人，看看這些迷人的文化，看看這些奇特的儀式，大家都在使用這個科技，他們點擊滑鼠、盯著螢幕。」
我研究這個有個原因，與傳統人類學對照，原因是工具的使用。最初，在千萬年前，一切均是物體本質的改變，這有助於擴展人體本質，使我們走得更快、擊打物體力道加重，但卻有限制。現在我們審視的，不是人體本質的擴展，而是心智本質的擴展。因此我們能更快速傳訊，用不同方式通訊。而發生的另一個情況是，我們都隨身攜帶小仙女Mary Poppins的技能，可以把任何想要之物放入，它不會加重，我們可以任意取用。電腦內部實際模樣為何？嗯，如果將它列印出來，會像是一千磅的物體，你總是隨身攜帶。如果你真的失去這些資訊，這意味著你腦海中突然失去這些，會突然覺得像是失去什麼，只是你無法看見它，這感覺很奇怪。
另外會發生的是，你擁有第二個自我。不論喜歡與否，你開始現身網路世界。當你不在線上時，人們與你第二個自我產生互動。你對這件事得很小心，就是讓你的社交前線公開，基本上是指你Facebook的塗鴉牆，這樣人們就不會半夜在上面留言，因為這效用是相當的。突然間，我們得開始經營第二個自我，你必須在數位生活中，以類似模擬你人生的方式展現自我。因此，你以同樣的方式起床、洗澡、著裝，你得為你的數位自我學會做這些。問題是，現在有很多人，特別是青少年，得度過兩個青春期。他們得度過原有的，這已令人很不自在；還得度過第二個自我的青春期，這令人更不自在。因為有個真實的過去，是他們在網路上經歷過的。任何接觸這項科技的新手，立即成了網路版的青少年，這令人非常不自在。對他們來說，做那些事情非常困難。
小時候，我爸會在晚上要我坐下，說，「我要教你未來的時間和空間。」我說，「太好了!」有一天他說，「兩點間最短的距離是什麼？」我說，「嗯，是直線，你昨天告訴過我，我想我很聰明。」他說，「不，不，有個更好的解答。」他拿起一張紙，在兩側各畫上AB兩點，將它折叠在一起，使AB兩點接觸。他說，「這是兩點之間最短的距離。」我說，「爸爸，爸爸，你怎麼辦到的？」他說，「嗯，你剛剛扭曲了時間和空間，這需要非常多能量，就是這麼辦到的。」我說，「我想試試看。」他說，「嗯，好吧!」之後一、二十年間，當我入睡時，我在夜裡思考，「我想成為第一個創造蟲洞的人，讓事物能加速得更快，我想製造一個時光機器。」我一直使用錄音機發送訊息給未來的自己。
但我上了大學後，意識到，這項科技不只是因為可行才被採用，它能被採用是因為人類使用它，它是為了人類而創造，所以我開始研究人類學。當我寫關於手機的論文時，我意識到，每個人口袋裡都攜帶著蟲洞。他們不是靠身體傳遞自我，而是靠心智傳遞。他們按下一個按鈕，立即使AB兩點連接。我想，「哦，哇，我發現了，真棒!」
隨著時間推移，時間和空間已因此而壓縮。你可以站在世界的一頭低聲說幾句話，在世界另一頭就可以聽見。另一個湧現的想法是，在你所使用的每個設備上，都形成不同類型的時間。每個瀏覽器分頁提供不同類型的時間，正因為如此，你開始挖掘你的外在記憶，你將它們遺留在何處？所以，現在我們都是古生物學家，正挖掘我們遺留在口袋裡、隨身攜帶的外在大腦中的東西。這激起了一種恐慌狀態，哦，不，這東西在哪？我們都是一個神奇資訊裝配線上的《我愛露西》，但我們跟不上它。
發生的情況是，當我們把這所有都帶入社交空間，最後結果是我們老是檢查手機，所以有個叫做環境親密度的東西。這不是說我們總是聯繫每個人，但我們隨時都可以聯繫想聯絡的人。如果能列印出手機中的每日訊息，這房間將會很擁擠。這些是你可以立即聯繫的人，一般來說是所有這些人，所有你可以聯絡的朋友和家人。
也有一些心理效應隨之發生。我確實很擔心的一點是，當總是被所有人包圍在這空間中時，人們不再花時間自省，他們無法放慢及停下腳步，這一切都試圖爭奪他們的注意力，在古生物學和恐慌狀態同時發生的交界點上，他們不只是坐在那裡。確實，當沒有外在資訊輸入，正是擁有自我創造的時刻，此時你可以做長期規劃，可以設法弄清楚自己到底是誰。一旦你這麼做，就可以瞭解如何以合理的方式呈現第二個自我。不只是處理所有迎面而來的事，哦，我必須做這個、這個、或這個，這是非常重要的。我真的很擔心，特別是當今的孩子，他們還無法處理這個尷尬期。他們有個快速點擊滑鼠的文化，一切向他們迎面而來的事都使他們非常興奮、極度上癮。
如果想想這一點，世界並沒有停住腳步。它擁有自己的外部人造裝置，這些裝置正幫助我們所有人溝通及彼此交流，但當你實際將其視覺化，所有我們目前進行的連接，是一個網際網路所映射的形象。它看起來不像科技，事實上相當像有機體。這在人類歷史中是第一次，我們以這種方式連接。並不是說機器正接管一切，而是它們正幫助我們更加人性化，幫助我們彼此聯繫。
最成功的科技開了一條路，幫助我們過生活。事實上，它最終將變得更具人性而非技術性，因為我們一直彼此共同創造，所以這是我想研究很重要的一點。這些事物是美麗的，仍是一種人類連結，只是用不同方式進行。我們只是增加了我們的人性、彼此聯繫的能力，不受地理限制，這就是為什麼我研究生化機器人類學。
謝謝。
（掌聲）
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以下為系統擷取之英文原文
About this talk
Technology is evolving us, says Amber Case, as we become a screen-staring, button-clicking new version of homo sapiens. We now rely on "external brains" (cell phones and computers) to communicate, remember, even live out secondary lives. But will these machines ultimately connect or conquer us? Case offers surprising insight into our cyborg selves.

About Amber Case

Amber Case studies the symbiotic interactions between humans and machines -- and considers how our values and culture are being shaped by living lives increasingly mediated by high technology. Full bio and more links

Transcript

I would like to tell you all that you are all actually cyborgs, but not the cyborgs that you think. You're not RoboCop, and you're not Terminator, but you're cyborgs every time you look at a computer screen or use one of your cell phone devices. So what's a good definition for cyborg? Well, traditional definition is an organism "to which exogenous components have been added for the purpose of adapting to new environments." That came from a 1960 paper on space travel. Because, if you think about it, space is pretty awkward; people aren't supposed to be there. But humans are curious, and they like to add things to their bodies so they can go to the Alps one day and then become a fish in the sea the next.

So let's look at the concept of traditional anthropology. Somebody goes to another country, says, "How fascinating these people are, how interesting their tools are, how curious their culture is." And then they write a paper, and maybe a few other anthropologists read it, and we think it's very exotic. Well, what's happening is that we've suddenly found a new species. I, as a cyborg anthropologist, have suddenly said, "Oh, wow. Now suddenly we're a new form of homo sapiens. And look at these fascinating cultures. And look at these curious rituals that everybody's doing around this technology. They're clicking on things and staring at screens."

Now there's a reason why I study this, versus traditional anthropology. And the reason is that tool use, in the beginning, for thousands and thousands of years, everything has been a physical modification of self. It has helped us to extend our physical selves, go faster, hit things harder, and there's been a limit on that. But now what we're looking at is not an extension of the physical self, but an extension of the mental self. And because of that, we're able to travel faster, communicate differently. And the other thing that happens is that we're all carrying around little Mary Poppins technology. We can put anything we want into it, and it doesn't get heavier, and then then we can take anything out. What does the inside of your computer actually look like? Well, if you print it out, it looks like a thousand pounds of material that you're carrying around all the time. And if you actually lose that information, it means that you suddenly have this loss in your mind, that you suddenly feel like something's missing, except you aren't able to see it, so it feels like a very strange emotion.

The other thing that happens is you have a second self. Whether you like it or not, you're starting to show up online, and people are interacting with your second self when you're not there. And so you have to be careful about leaving your front line open, which is basically your Facebook wall, so that people don't write on it in the middle of the night -- because it's very much the equivalent. And suddenly we have to start to maintain our second self. You have to present yourself in digital life in a similar way that you would in your analog life. So, in the same way that you wake up, take a shower and get dressed, you have to learn to do that for your digital self. And the problem is that a lot of people now, especially adolescents, have to go through two adolescencies. They have to go through their primary one, that's already awkward, and then they go through their second self's adolescence. And that's even more awkward because there's an actual history of what they've gone through online. And anybody coming in new to technology, is an adolescent online right now. And so it's very awkward, and it's very difficult for them to do those things.

So when I was little, my dad would sit me down at night and say, "I'm going to teach you about time and space in the future." And I said, "Great." And he said one day, "What's the shortest distance between two points?" And I said, "Well, that's a straight line. You told me that yesterday. I thought I was very clever." He said, "No, no, no. Here's a better way." He took a piece of paper, drew A and B on one side and the other and folded them together so where A and B touched. And he said, "That is the shortest distance between two points." And I said, "Dad, dad, dad, how do you do that?" He said, "Well, you just bend time and space, it takes an awful lot of energy, and that's just how you do it." And I said, "I want to do that." And he said, "Well, okay." And so, when I went to sleep for the next 10 or 20 years, I was thinking at night, "I want to be the first person to create a wormhole, to make things accelerate faster. And I want to make a time machine." I was always sending messages to my future self using tape recorders.

But then what I realized when I went to college is that technology doesn't just get adopted because it works; it gets adopted because people use it and it's made for humans. So I started studying anthropology. And when I was writing my thesis on cell phones, I realized that everyone was carrying around wormholes in their pocket. They weren't physically transporting themselves, they were mentally transporting themselves. They would click on a button, and they would be connected as A to B immediately. And I thought, "Oh, wow. I found it. This is great."

So over time, time and space have compressed because of this. You can stand on one side of the world, whisper something and be heard on the other. One of the other ideas that comes around is that you have a different type of time on every single device that you use. Every single browser tab gives you a different type of time. And because of that, you start to dig around for your external memories -- where did you leave them? So now we're all these paleontologists that are digging for things that we've lost on our external brains that we're carrying around in our pockets. And that incites a sort of panic architecture. Oh no, where's this thing? We're all "I Love Lucy" on a great assembly line of information, and we can't keep up.

And so what happens is, when we bring all that into the social space, we end up checking our phones all the time. So we have this thing called ambient intimacy. It's not that we're always connected to everybody, but at anytime we can connect to anyone we want. And if you were able to print out everybody in your cell phone, the room would be very crowded. These are the people that you have access to right now, in general -- all of these people, all of your friends and family that you can connect to.

And so there are some psychological effects that happen with this. One I'm really worried about is that people aren't taking time for mental reflection anymore, and that they aren't slowing down and stopping, being around all those people in the room all the time that are trying to compete for their attention on the simultaneous time interfaces, paleontology and panic architecture. They're not just sitting there. And really, when you have no external input, that is a time when there is a creation of self, when you can do long-term planning, when you can try and figure out who you really are. And then, once you do that, you can figure out how to present your second self in a legitimate way, instead of just dealing with everything as it comes in -- and oh, I have to do this, and I have to do this, and I have to do this. And so this is very important. I'm really worried that, especially kids today, they're not going to be dealing with this down time, that they have an instantaneous button-clicking culture, and that everything comes to them, and that they become very excited about it and very addicted to it.

So if you think about it, the world hasn't stopped either. It has its own external prosthetic devices, and these devices are helping us all to communicate and interact with each other. But when you actually visualize it, all the connections that we're doing right now -- this is an image of the mapping of the Internet -- it doesn't look technological; it actually looks very organic. This is the first time in the entire history of humanity that we've connected in this way. And it's not that machines are taking over; it's that they're helping us to be more human, helping us to connect with each other.

The most successful technology gets out of the way and helps us live our lives. And really, it ends up being more human than technology, because we're co-creating each other all the time. And so this is the important point that I like to study: that things are beautiful, that it's still a human connection; it's just done in a different way. We're just increasing our humanness and our ability to connect with each other, regardless of geography. So that's why I study cyborg anthropology.

Thank you.

(Applause)