“Prologue: Computing Kin.” My Mother was a Computer

In Katherine Hayles Prologue: Computing Kin, from her book 'My Mother Was A Computer', she discusses the changes that happened in society with the development of computers and technology.  For the purposes of her article she looks at the different interpretations of the title, ‘My Mother Was A Computer’, from the time of World War II to the end twentieth century.  Through this time period there was a shift from manual calculations performed by humans to one where computational machines performed these tasks.  The statement as explained by Katherine Hayles, stands, “as a synecdoche for the panoply of issues raised by the relation of Homo Sapiens to Robo Sapiens, humans to intelligent machines” (Hayles).  She explains that there are post human ideas like, humans uploading there consciousness into computers, which are influencing the loss of parts of the corporeal embodiment that defines human limitation; but she does not agree with this notion. In her version of the post human she acknowledges the importance of embodiment and the ways in which it enhances both human and nonhuman life. (Hayles)  Hayles has observed the penetration of computational technologies into the developed countries of the world that has created a global mediated network, which is based on developing and integrating economic, manufacturing, transportation, and communication technologies.  With this change, tensions begin to develop between the different post human versions that are based on this evolution of machines and technology.

Through her argument she compares the liberal human tradition with post human to show how as technology evolves the post humans versions that emerge are re-inscribing aspects of liberal tradition, as this associated self with mind and the body as a container in which the mind operates (Hayles).  With further technological development the contrast between embodiment and disembodiment become more complex and have varied formations. (Hayles)  Under the contemporary conditions that exist there is a nuanced analysis that requires materiality to be repositioned from a physicality notion to one where the material basis of subjectivities and hybrid text can be re-envisioned (Hayles).  The materiality created through the interactions of physical characteristics and signifying strategies marks a convergence between the human intention and physical reality that exists.  Materiality relates to the Computational Universe described by Hayles, in which the universe is created through computational processes which define all aspects of physical reality that are produced and reproduced on a variety of levels, systems, and complex behaviors (Hayles).  For her purposes, the Universal Computer that is displacing Mother Nature is visualized in technology development as the ‘Motherboard’ of human beings.  Hayles describes this Computational Universe to enable insight into aspects of reality but also notes the obscurity that is created within certain features of reality.  This friction created through technological development, allows a synergetic cooperation between traditional and computational perspectives (Hayles).  Through her work she also is interested in the complex dynamics of this Computational Universe and how this world alongside technical and artistic practices, leads to a diversification of the meanings of computation. The three that Hayles discusses are technology, ontology, and cultural icons. 

Hayles also reviews how reading functions have been altered through the development of computational devices.  Computers do this by looking at the concept of reading, as a hallucination. Within contemporary society there has been a displacement of reading with the development of features like instant messaging, chat rooms, video games, email, and Web Surfing.  The traditional mother’s voice, that was the aspect that aided in the learning of words for adolescence, is now being supplanted by a variety of other stimuli, like visual, audio, kinesthetic and haptic cues transmitted through computers (Hayles).  With the development of the computational Universe, an individual’s subjectivities are now being extended within electronic environments like the internet through clicks, beeps and tones. Through her analysis she interrogates the effects of these interactions on the subjectivities and reading practices to show how print and electronic texts measure in relation to computational practices of contemporary society (Hayles). 

Now in regards to the kinship implications to understand the title of the article, she looks at how it creates both an understanding and misunderstanding of certain anthropomorphic projections, as they create an imaginary cultural view in which individuals are autonomous creatures with human life subjectivities (Hayles).  On the other side of this, there is the idea the humans can be seen as computer programs themselves and therefore looking at the hybrid subjectivities which may be created in the computational universe, provides insight to these relationships.  When Hayles looks at the aspect of literature and she determines that it is self-evident, she examines this in two different ways.  The first as an inclusion of literature, as its marginal position within culture increases and how it competes and co-operates with cultural aspects (Hayles). The second way pertains to an invitation to rethink the role of literature in the creation of contemporary culture imagery (Hayles). And to do this she looks at three broad categories, which are mathematic equations, simulation and discursive explanations.  And through these she determines that there are complex behaviors that exist, as well as simulations that create an imaginary world which humans can either take or mistake for reality.

The difference between literary text and simulation, as describe by Hayles, is that simulation requires computation and that literature is narrative.  Narrative simulation through literature is older but relates to subjectivities that remain rooted to human society (Hayles).  In contrast, computers perform numerical calculations through algorithms contained numerical quantities to create visual simulations (Hayles).  As mention by Hayles, there are tensions that exist between simulation and narrative, one of which is the dialect between the human and inhuman worlds.  Hayles uses three dynamics, which include making, storing and transmitting information, to understand the bodies of subject and text and their interactions to understand the tensions that exist (Hayles).  Through her discussion she shows how irreducible and evolutionary the simulation and narrative complexes are within contemporary society. 

The prologue to her book My Mother Was a Computer: Digital Subjects and Literary text, I think this is a great way in helping to understand the evolution of information technology and what it represents today, but also provides insight to how the relationship between humans and computers has changed through this evolution.  The development of computers into the form that exists today can be viewed in two ways.  They can either be seen as an influential or detrimental development within contemporary society.  The fears and skepticisms that exist towards computers and machines developed from the current relationships and applications of technology within contemporary society, with an example being the integration of computer animated robots in assembly plants.  Katherine Hayles discusses this post humanism fear in the conclusion of her book, ‘How we Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics’ (Hayles).  With technologies becoming more influential within society and humans becoming more dependent of machines and computers in our everyday tasks, it is only understandable that these fears exist.  Continuing to view this evolution as negative will only continue to induce these fears, but with a positive outlook computers can be regarded as a tool in which to make our lives easier and efficient.  Over all, we should embrace the notion that “ it is a way to maximize human potential in the world” and “ ensure the long-range survival of humans and of the other life-forms, biological and artificial, with whom we share the planet” (Hayles). 

When we integrate the internet into this understanding, we see how the immaterial labour that now exists within the reality of the internet can influence a variety of factors within contemporary society. This is examined in an article by Cote and Pybus, which examines immaterial labour of the internet through social networking sites, specifically MySpace, and how this new form of interaction between human and nonhuman is changing society (Cote and Pybus).  Even though we may think of the internet as a computer simulation, I think it is representative of its own form of simulation which is only displayed through computers.  This is shown through the relationship created between digital computations and literary text modalities described by Hayles.  The internet and humans have formed a new simulated world which has increased with the development of both communication and information technology through the transmission of information.  “This transmutation of the Internet from elite tool and toy to everyday information and communication appliance points to its significance for e-citizenship” (Wellman).  Wellman’s approach of the internet creating the e-citizen through accessing a multitude of media sources to obtain desired information, perform daily tasks that were once physically executed and also participate and interact within this world is appropriate to describe the current integration of technology. The internet “is becoming a prime means by which a great many people in the developed world obtain information, transmit information, and discuss this information with others, one-on-one and in large and small groups.”(Wellman)  And with the development of more mobile access to the internet, it is creating and encouraging the internet and information technology like computers to become part of us. 

So through further expanding individual subjectivities online and the relationships between humans, communication technologies, and the internet, we can only accept this and use the development to improve humanity and the world with which we reside and minimize the focus on the negative.

Based on the evolutionary change of communication and information technology within contemporary society, tell me your views on this change?  Do you view this a more negative or positive change for humans?

CITATIONS

Coté, Mark and Jennifer Pybus. 'Learning to Immaterial Labour 2.0: MySpace and Social Networks.' Ephemera. 7.1 (2007). 88-106. (online; E-Journal).

Hayles, N. Katherine. “Conclusion: What Does it Mean to be Posthuman?” How we Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 283-291 and 322-323. (CanCopy Course Kit).

Hayles, N. Katherine. “Prologue: Computing Kin.” My Mother was a Computer: Digital

Subjects and Literary Texts. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2005. 1-7

And 245. (CanCopy Course Kit).

Wellman, Barry, Anabel Quan-Hasse, Jeffrey Boase, Wenhong Chen, Keith Hampton, Isabel Isla de Diaz, and Kakuko Miyata. ‘The Social Affordances of the Internet for Networked Individualism.’ JCMC. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Apr. 2003. Web. <http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol8/issue3/wellman.html>.

Heterotopia

     In Michael Foucault’s writing titled, Of Other Spaces, he explains the notion of Heterotopias in regards to space and time.  By examining the various ways in which heterotopias are described by Foucault, we can observe its relation of space and time in order to determine whether, what we call the internet, is a heterotopia.

     Foucault begins by showing the shift of how the idea of space has change through time.  In medieval time, space was consider to be hierarchic or as Foucault had stated, “it was this complete hierarchy, this opposition, this intersection of place this constituted what could very roughly be called medieval space: the space of emplacement.” (Foucault)  With the work of Galileo, the space of emplacement was opened up and considered as an extension of places not considered to be localized.  In contemporary capitalism, the relations of proximity between points or elements were used to describe this idea of which space takes “the form of relations among sites”. (Foucault) In order to map and understand space, it is important to look at oppositions in regards to space, and not so much the aspect of time.  He also examines how places have certain characteristics that cannot be exchanged between other sites shows that we live in spaces that are so called heterogeneous and are delineated through relations that are irreducible and not are superimposed. (Foucault)

     After examining the shift in how society has viewed space and time, Foucault goes on to describe Heterotopias by looking at six principles. The first principle he describes is basically that all societies constitute heterotopias and specifically he breaks this down into two categories. (Foucault)  The first is primitive societies which are considered heterotopias of crisis which are described as privileged or sacred or forbidden.  These heterotopias are disappearing in contemporary society, with only remnants of these we can be seen in places, like boarding schools, military and particularly do not have any geographical markers.  The second category is called a heterotopia of deviation, which entails the deviant behavior of individuals in relation to the norm. (Foucault)  The second principle described is a heterotopia that can change its function based on the changes that occur in society over time. (Asdam)  Heterotopias have specific functions which are related to the societies in which they encompass and a prime example of this would be a place such as a cemetery.  With time, the meaning and location of cemeteries has seen changes in its function within society.  Early on, cemetery where locations within the city near the church and there was a hierarchy of tombs within the cemetery.  Later on in time the cemeteries were moved out of cities or villages and this is due to shift in its meaning to one of illness. The third principle described is a heterotopia, that can be, at one and the same place, layers of multi-places that are incompatible. (Foucault) A few examples of this type of heterotopia are cinemas or gardens.  When you look at cinemas, individuals are in a room viewing projections on a two dimension screen which provides a view of a three dimensional spaces.  Gardens on the other hand are a kind of universal happy heterotopia.

     The fourth principle describe by Foucault, are places that can be linked to slices of time and open onto heterochronies.  Places such as museums and libraries provide a view of time that continues to grow and build upon itself which is representative of this heterotopia.  The knowledge provided in places like museums and libraries provide a history of humanity that goes back to the origin of specific time periods based on what is displayed or available within the site.  The fifth principle based its understanding on that “heterotopias always presuppose a system of opening and closing that both isolates them and makes them penetrable” (Foucault)  These types of heterotopias  are not open to everyone but there are certain criteria some must meet in order to have access.  This can be either compulsory actions in places like barracks or prisons, or in contrast someone would have to gain permission or make certain gestures. In the final principle described by Foucault, heterotopias have a function in relation to all space and places that remain.  If you think of a heterotopia of illusion, a space must be created based on all the ‘real’ spaces which are based on illusions. (Asdam)  There is also the heterotopia of compensation, in which the creation of a space that are perfect while there are other certain places that are messy or disjointed.  This relates to history of colonization of the Americas as this new found place seems perfect in relation to the society in which the travellers came.  Brothels and colonies represent these two extremes of heterotopias describe by Foucault in this last principle.  And if one were to think of a boat which is a space that floats but does not have a specific place, you can see how civilization without boats, there world we live in would be not what it is at this present time. (Foucault)

     I found this particular article interesting and intriguing.  The idea of heterotopias, as describe by Foucault are “places and spaces that function in non-hegemonic conditions” (Wikipedia) help to understand various aspects of the world in which we live and interact.  By using the characteristics of heterotopias you can analyze to understand the advances that are occurring within our society.  With the advancement of the internet a new form of spaces has been created that exists within our contemporary society. We can use Foucault’s notion of heterotopia to understand these new spaces that exist with the realm of the internet.  The internet is a virtual space that exists in an illusionary world created and the places that exist within this world are heterotopic in various ways.  The internet consists of a vast array of information that is accessible to those who have access to information technology that is capable of entering these new spaces.  The internet as a whole can be considered a heterotopia as it “cyberspace handily embraces notions of the other, limits access and presents contradictions of purpose, illusion, and the imagination and deviancy“(M/C Journal).  This view has been generated by publications and articles which have created the internet to be an ideal other world.  Not only as a whole, is the internet or cyberspace considered a heterotopia, but the spaces that exist within the internet can also be considered heterotopias.  Based on Foucault’s ideas of heterotopias, he is conceiving that  these places are “socially defined spaces that embrace material and immaterial, and yet are located outside of all other places -- even though it may be possible to indicate their position 'in reality'.(M/C Journal). If you take Foucault’s last principle, the idea of the boat or ship, it provides insight to how the internet and new information and communication technologies allow access to these spaces and places that exist in this new world when considering it a heterotopia.  The internet will always consisted of a vast array of subspaces and the changes it has undergone since its development have been intense. (Asdam)  The power struggle that it has endured through the development of the internet also shows how you can consider it a heterotrophic space.  The internet itself is not just one place or space but a montage of heterotrophic spaces, points of deviation and assault groups that are created within the structure of what we call the internet (Asdam). 

After looking at the principles and characteristics of heterotopias, I think you can consider the internet or cyberspace to be form of heterotopia but this is also dependent of what the internet consists and this is a vast array of heterotrophic spaces within.  It is an interest view and others may argue that the internet as a whole is not a heterotopia, but after reviewing Foucault’s view and other sources, I have to say this notion of heterotopia implies to what we now call the internet and all that reside within.

Based on Foucault’s notion of heterotopia and the principles in which it entails do you consider the internet as a whole to be heterotrophic?  Why?

CITATIONS

Asham, Knut. "Heterotopia: Art, Pornography, and Cemetaries." The Work of Knut Asham. Dec. 1995. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.knutasdam.net/index.php>.

Foucault, Michel. "Michel Foucault, Of Other Spaces (1967), Heterotopias." Michel Foucault, Info. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://foucault.info/documents/heteroTopia/foucault.heteroTopia.en.html>..'

Sherman, Young. "Of Cyber Spaces: The Internet & Heterotopias." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1.4 (1998). [your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9811/hetero.php>.

Wikipedia. "Heterotopia (space)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterotopia_(space)>.