A Cyborg Species of Humans
While some people are still caught up in the sudden changes in the system of living, some leverage these improvements to achieve good results, to make outstanding success and great fortune. You could be wondering how to place yourself in a world that is changing so fast, perhaps you aren’t quite sure about the activities to engage. This discourse is a part of a series in which I discuss the requisiteness of the computer devices in the present world, I shall briefly introduce you to the trends of the digital present and a list of choices from which, perhaps, you could find an intriguing subject to dive into. However, be mindful at first that this is not necessarily for a computer or general science nerd. The computer has become more like a tool everyone uses; you should know that already.
A friend once opined that there are no more natural human beings on earth, that’s quite hilarious of course, “we have only cyborgs now”, he said. One would casually discard that kind of assertion. But for a critically minded person, the speech was a deep one that held a deep meaning. A critical examination of that assertion could actually lead one to infer that a major part of the present human race comprises cyborgs of course.
‘Cyborg’, a term coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline, to mean a contraction of “cybernetic organism”, being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. This implies such an organism has organic and electromechanical parts, as you would, for the simplest and most usable instance, picture a human-robot hybrid. The cyborg exists and remains alive (biologically) by its bio-organs while it also engages the experience of inanimate computers by its mechatronic part — it is, therefore, dependent on these two features and will not survive should any one of these components fail. This is the non-literal reality of the present human, who cannot be separated from their mobile phone. Although there is no sequestering of mechanical parts to the species of humans we know today, they are pretty much cyborgs since they are addicted to their isolated mechatronic devices and can’t go a day without posting a photo on Facebook or texting their brother who stays in the same room.
That was only to explain the reality, and also to acknowledge it (the exact opposite of ‘criticizing it’), because the very life we live now, in which we must survive, will not function without the lifestyle incorporation of these devices and their awesome functions.
As a consequence, it is necessary for a mindful person to seek knowledge in the science of these things; even if not so technical, a basic insight and ability to utilize simple tools will not hurt. Most of the complex tools which do simple tasks now aren’t all about programming as everything was. There is a fine lot of things that can be done by an amateur accountant who doesn’t know how to write python codes, starting from automating customer mails, adding and manipulating data to spreadsheets, creating and sending reports, or scheduling tasks for completion to more complex stuff like automating responses to customers on their WhatsApp handles, or even building a functional chatbot (software robot) by themselves, and of course, without knowing anything about computer codes.
As a busy individual, you could still consult developers to do simple things, but not everything. Learn to use some of these tools, take [free] courses about more complex tools online anytime you feel like. For more zealous individuals, to whom a major part of this series focuses, there are quite a lot of interesting things you could start doing with your computer from now on.
You could build a simple website yourself — the majority uses WordPress, which is quite standard. Other frameworks that really help you deal with the codes include Wix, Weebly, Jimdo, Site123, and Webflow. Trying to make a site for yourself could be successful, could also open you to more about the world wide web, instigate you to expand your reach for technical techniques, and perhaps introduce you to the world of programming which is paramount.
Chatbot Development [learn more about it here] seems to be one of the most sought after discipline in the 21st century since it’s surnamed Artificial Intelligence, the very topic in all sci-fi movies. Being able to build chatbots is a step closer to knowing the intricacies of robots, and some principles of artificial intelligence. Fortunately, although very much all of these deal with codes, you don’t need to be a code guru to start. You can read an overview of this technology and the hows of its development in a previous article here.
To automate things yourself, like spreadsheet manipulation, emails, and so much more as discussed above, you could use these tools and more I can’t list— Zapier, Integromat, Automate, Microsoft Flow.
For an individual more zealous about computer technology and ready to dive into a proper education of the mechatronic and internet world, they should begin by learning a prevalent programming language. There are several requisite languages for doing different things. The standard languages for developing web interfaces are HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Styles Sheet (CSS), and Javascript (Js) — do not mistake Javascript for Java or think they related, they aren’t related at all. Other conventional languages are also used in the backend web to structure websites and their databases, some of them are PHP, Python, Js, etc. Java is suitable, though becoming obsolete, in the development of mobile and desktop applications, especially for Android devices. Javascript (React/Vue/Angular) seems to be the prevailing method of developing web and mobile applications while languages like Python and R are reserved to do the deeds of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. However, while R is basically used for Data Science, Python is in Data Science, major in Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning), and also used in general programming concepts like Java. Python is also one of the best languages for developing web frameworks, the language seems to be the superhero programming language of the century. So, if anyone wants to learn conventional or multi-purpose programming, they should learn Python. Older languages, some of which are still in use, are C, C++, C#, Perl, Octave, etc.
With all of these utilities and applications, you come to the verge of using your mechatronic devices for profitable reasons and placing yourself fit in the changing world, so that you are not left out of the trends.
We will not contemplate the addiction of people to the computers, which in a way shouldn’t be considered an addiction but an inclination. Instead, we must make sure our inclination to this technology yields positive results.
Peter Michael
University of Lagos, Nigeria.
SGC GI: 048 — Robotics/IoT/AI
