i dont know about cannibilism and cyborgs, but at the
moment i am reading texts tied to the darwin anniversary
and one of the things that struck me is how we have an
idea that somehow humans( and other individuals of a species)
are somehow "autonomous" in the world= when in fact
we have co evolved with a whole network of organisms
many of which (eg the microbial scale) are parasitic/symbiotic
to such an extent that we have regularly exchanged genetic
material. Our auto immune system develops in total symbiosis
with the organisms that we grow up with in the womb and
in the world. If you remove theses symbiotic species we cannot survive
alone.
Recent ideas about how evolution operates depart
from the ideas of Darwin that pictures evolution as a "tree" (a metaphor
based on his study of coral) where new species, branch out from
older trunk and branches which die off. Current evolutionary theory
sees more cross /lateral connecting between branches.
by the way murat points out that the flesh eating robot has turned
vegetarian= the robot should really eat viruses and other microbes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/20/flesh-eating-robot-vegetarian
roger
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lanfranco Aceti <lanfranco.aceti@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Subject: Flesh Eating Cyborgs
To: roger malina <leonardo.isast@gmail.com>
Dear Roger,
Hope you are well. I have just stumbled upon this and probably you
knew about it already.
http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/index.php/EATR
The purpose of the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR)™
(patent pending) project is to develop and demonstrate an autonomous
robotic platform able to perform long-range, long-endurance missions
without the need for manual or conventional re-fueling, which would
otherwise preclude the ability of the robot to perform such missions.
The system obtains its energy by foraging – engaging in
biologically-inspired, organism-like, energy-harvesting behavior which
is the equivalent of eating. It can find, ingest, and extract energy
from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy
sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as
gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil,
and solar) when suitable.
This demonstration project can lead to three potential Phase III
commercialization projects: (1) the development of prototype and
operational EATR™ systems for military and civil applications; (2) new
civil and military applications for the autonomous intelligent control
system; and (3) development of the hybrid external combustion engine
system for civil and military automotive applications, whether for
manned or unmanned vehicles.
In one of my replies I was wondering if eating transplanted human dna
in plants raised issues of cannibalism, but probably I should have
asked if the cyborg will feed on plants, animals and human flesh...
All the best,
Lanfranco
http://www.lanfrancoaceti.com
Dr. Lanfranco Aceti
Associate Professor in Contemporary Art & Digital Culture
Sabanci University
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Room 2082
Orhanli/Tuzla
34956 Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: +90 (216) 483 9292
Email: aceti@sabanciuniv.edu
=============================================
Honorary Lecturer
Department of Computer Science, Virtual Reality Environments
University College London
011 33 (0) 6 15 79 59 26
or (0) 6 80 45 94 47
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