The Intimacy of Transhumanism
There’s a tendency to think that transhumanism is robotic, cold, impersonal, abstract, or distant, but the truth is that transforming ourselves with technology is a deeply intimate and immediate experience.
When I say “technology,” I’m defining it in the broadest sense possible. Technology is laptops, smart cars, and solar panels, but it’s also hand soap, clothing, furniture, vaccines, and architecture. Our technology is woven into the fabric of our lives, yet we look at it as if it’s foreign or unearthly.
I wasn’t aware of just how intimate my relationship with technology was until I became a transhumanist. My eyes were opened to see that I had taken my relationship with technology for granted and blinded myself to my own techno-transformation. Transhumanism became concrete, tangible, and immediate.
For example, I’m an avid hiker. Before I hit the trails, I put on prosthetic skin, or more commonly referred to as clothing. I put on boots which enable me to withstand terrain and temperatures I would not have been able to endure without injuring myself. I put on my coat and hat to protect my body and internal organs from freezing temperatures.
To get to the trials, I get into my car. At my command the car does my bidding. My body temporarily merges with my car to take me to the mountains in a matter of minutes, rather than a matter of hours on-foot. I put on my headphones and play music from a library of thousands of songs. Once I get to the trails I put on my pack and carry items that would not fit in my hands. Lastly, I strap crampons on my boots. The artificial half-inch claws strapped on my feet allow me to run across sheets of ice without slipping. Technology allows me to expand my mediocre human abilities into a superhuman experience.
When I get home from my hike, I shower. I wash my body with more technology, soap. I use shampoo and conditioner to cleanse my hair. After a rinse with hot water provided by an advanced technological plumbing system, I grab a towel. Even my towel is a piece of technology I took for granted.
After getting dressed, I eat food which is technologically enhanced. The fruits and vegetables I consume do not exist independent of human creation or adaptation. Due to human modifications, the apple I eat today is significantly different than the apple hominids may have consumed. But even more intimate than ingesting and consuming my breakfast, is the consumption of medications. I take several medications daily to compensate for my body’s deficiencies. I ingest tiny pieces of technology to maintain my existence. The technology alters my body and my body alters it until the technology has become part of me. I’m literally transformed by technology from the outside in and inside out. If consuming technology and absorbing it into my body isn’t an intimate experience, I’m not sure what is.
However, technology doesn’t just affect the day-to-day functions of my body. It also affects the intimacy of my relationships. Communication technologies allow me to call my sisters who live in different states. I can text my husband notes throughout the day. In an instant I can send my mother an email or share good news with a friend. Communication technologies have transformed our ability to maintain intimate relationships with people beyond proximity obstacles. Not only that, technology can also engender sexual intimacy. From vibrators to Viagra, birth control to fertility drugs, our technology is intimately involved in our sexuality and creativity. Technology plays a role in all our relationships.
During the day, I use technology to create art. Much like art, technology is the physical creation of our most radical and intimate desires. For better or worse, technologies have a powerful way of bringing fantasies to life. When I enter my paint studio, I choose from various mediums—paints, liquids, pallet knives, gesso, and plaster. Together my technology and I make art. When I write poetry, I use anything I can to scribble on—a note pad, post it, phone, laptop, or napkin. It doesn’t matter if I have a camera, paint bush, or phone in my hand, it’s all technology. It doesn’t matter if it’s words on a laptop or paint on a canvas. Technology allows me to turn thinking into creating.
Regardless of the specific technology, there is no doubt our relationship with technology is an intimate one. It penetrates every aspect of our existence—molding, shaping, and transforming what we call “reality.” It changes our bodies, minds, behaviors, environment, and relationships. Transhumanism may seem far away and abstract, but the truth is that transhumanism is a deeply intimate experience we are all participating in whether we recognize it or not. Techno-transformation isn’t something reserved for the future. It’s happening right now.
