James B. Duke Professor Emerita of Literature, Duke University
Asking if computers are just tools invites us to consider whether our interactions with them are transforming what it means to be human. This talk will explore scientific research and fictional narratives that suggest programmable and networked media are neurologically, socially, culturally, and economically transforming how humans function. A case will be made that humans and computational media have now become symbionts, each facilitating the life cycle of the other. Crafting a framework in which meaning making is not longer an exclusively human prerogative, the talk will conclude by exploring the implications of this perspective.
