A dazzling tour of the history of technology and its complex relationship to the human body
What is the relationship between our bodies and our senses and technology? In today's world of
blinding technological change of artificial intelligence and deepfakes and Chat GPT it is
easy to forget that we have always had complicated relations with technology—whether that
technology is computers player pianos and even eyeglasses. In this wide-ranging and
fascinating study Vanessa Chang takes us on a historical tour of the interactions between our
bodies and machines showing that the advent of new technologies has always been met with
varied reactions from misplaced fear to tragic over-optimism. The result is cultural critique
of the highest order and a profound demonstration of the eternal truth that in order to
understand the future we must look to the past.
