Featured Speaker : Amber Case on The Field of Cyborg Anthropology
I’m honored to announce our first verified Featured Speaker : Amber Case.
Presentation, Discussion and Analysis: The Field of Cyborg Anthropology
Cyborg Anthropology is the study of the interaction between humans and computers, and how the capabilities of our bodies are extended externally and uploaded into hypertext. We are all Cyborgs. Increasingly, we are purchasing and discarding extensions to our selves. We’re also becoming an interface culture. How we interact with machines and technology in many ways defines who we are. Cyborg Anthropology is a lens with which to understand what’s happening to us in a world mediated by dynamic objects, processes and change.
The shape of a site’s architecture makes people move, and the flow of people shapes how a site transforms over time. Profiles and avatars allow users to represent themselves asynchronously—that is, they are another extension of connection and etiquette that can be optimized or used poorly. These extensions of presence allow people to be accessed when they aren’t even there. Each of us is becoming a celebrity cyborg; a famous machine.
This session will be part presentation, part discussion, and part analysis. Comments, deconstructionist thoughts and debates are welcomed. Help be a part of a new and evolving field of study.
Hailing from PDX, Case is the founder of CyborgCamp, and has spoken at Ignite, MIT, Gnomedex, and many other events. You can find her at caseorganic.com. We’re thrilled to have her!