Blade Runner Cyborgs Page

Using the film Blade Runner for GCSE English.

Cyborgs

cyborg, n. a person whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device.

What's the difference between replicants, cyborgs, androids and robots? Look here!

Although the replicants in Blade Runner are robots, the cyborg - part man part machine - is the source of much fascination in science fiction.
Will he be cobbled together from remanants and spare parts?

or an androgynous creature of beauty and printed circuitry?

"The alternative to artificial reality is to build a mechanical body which carries the brain simulator around, just as our bodies carry around our brains now. The body would need to duplicate the senses and motor functions of a real human body if we want to minimize the patient's adjustment. Artificial bodies would no doubt be crude at first, with numbed senses and clumsy muscles, but if demand is high, technology is sure to improve. Rather than clunky metal robots such as the famous "C-3P0" of Star Wars fame, artificial bodies will probably be made of smart polymers, ceramics, and other advanced materials.

Note that as artificial bodies will probably run on some sort of fuel cell or nuclear power source, eating will no longer be necessary. However, a properly designed body may still allow for the act of eating, for the pleasure of it. The same goes for other bodily functions (e.g., sex) -- if there is demand for it, then artificial (or simulated) bodies will no doubt be capable of it."

Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer

by Steve Mann, with Hal Niedzviecki, ISBN: 0385658257

Published October 2001 by Randomhouse Doubleday

Steve Mann is a cyborg, and the inventor of the wearable computer, called the WearComp. He sees the world as images imprinted onto his retina by rays of laser light. This allows him to transmit his viewpoint live to the Internet, block out billboards and other unwanted visual stimuli, and turn his world into a series of hyperlinks. Constantly connected to the WearComp system, Mann has all the capabilities of a standard office at his disposal, even as he utilizes shrinking technologies to turn himself into a portable movie studio.

The first person to live in total constant intimate contact with the computer, Steve Mann exists at once in the real and virtual worlds, living an entirely videographic existence, seeing everything around him, including himself, through a wearable computer. Over the past twenty years, Steve Mann has been his own human guinea pig, testing his various wearable computer prototypes on himself. In Cyborg, he uses his own unique experiences to assess the state of wearable computers and their potential impact on our lives, articulating a vision for a tomorrow that sees humanity freer, safer, and smarter in ways most of us can only imagine.

Mann is fascinated by the possibilities of the cyborg future, but he does not shrink away from frankly discussing the dangers of a post-human age in which our computers come to control us. In this unique ground-breaking book, Mann charts the development of a wearable computer industry, and warns of dangers to our liberty, privacy, and democracy. He contrasts those dangers with his own sweeping inclusive vision of a wearable computing age that brings about new ways to teach, learn, make art, communicate, and even think.

Part biography, part breath-taking manifesto, part startling look into the very near future, Cyborg is a powerful book that challenges preconceptions and invites readers to enter the mind of one of the most fascinating thinkers of our time.
Cyborg links: Cyborgmanifesto | The ethics of the Cyborg | Cyborg existences

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