The augmentation of the human body is controversial. And the question whether one will lose their humanity is in question. In R. Talsorians’s Cyberpunk, the role playing game, this idea is perfectly translated into a statistic. The score tracks when a player character becomes more machine than man. However, there are also valid reasons to allow for some people to become enhanced to improve their quality of life. In Cyborg: A Documentary, first-time director Carey Born dives into the possibilities. Thankfully, there’s people who know when to stop rather than to keep on augmenting.
Although this filmmaker is quite focused on this individual, the discourse concerning who else can benefit really depends. For the most part, Neil Harbisson‘s life is front and centre. Although born without the ability to perceive colour, he’s become an artist who uses sound to help him paint. That’s because of the computer software he helped develop to let him hear how paint works. Although he’s not the world’s first person to receive an implant, to show how he functions as a spokesperson for this movement is rather fascinating. While the idea of inserting a chip into an organic body is nothing new because pets often get an RFID chip, to put that in a human is troublesome.
Playing at the