Meditations on the intersection of humanity and technology | Olivia Arthur

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

翻译人员: Winston Chung 校对人员: Gia Hwang

和许多有幸多少保持健康的人一样，

我一生大部分的时候 都不会想到我的身体——

我靠它到处跑，

Like many people

偶尔碰撞一下没关系，

who have been fortunate enough to be more or less healthy,

没有足够休息也不太抱怨的东西。

I spent most of my life never thinking much about my body.

但我怀孕时，一切都改变了。

Something that I relied on to get me around,

突然间，我的身体变成机器， 正执行一项不可思议任务，

not to mind the occasional bash

and not to complain too much if I wasn't getting enough rest.

我得注意、照顾好我的身体， 使它能做好它的工作。

But that all changed for me when I became pregnant.

我当纪录片摄影师快二十年了，

Suddenly, my body was this machine performing an incredible task.

但在此之前，我从未将镜头转向自己。

That was something that I had to take notice of

and look after, so that it could do its job.

突然间，我发现我迷上了

I've been a documentary photographer for nearly 20 years now

我们对自己身体的感受，

but I never turned the camera on myself until that time.

以及我们行为举止如何表达出 坚强或恐惧，勇气或羞涩。

And then suddenly, I found myself fascinated

by how we feel about our bodies

我花了几年做纪录片， 探讨我们人类和自己身体的关系。

and how we express strength or fear,

courage or shyness in the way we carry ourselves.

然而，近来，

我一直在探索人类身体的新领域：

I spent several years making work that examined the relationship

用科技来转变身体。

that we have to our bodies as humans.

当人类随著科技演化，

More recently, though,

且两者之间的界限越来越模糊，

I've been exploring a new frontier in the human body.

我要记录我们演化成 一种新人类的过程，

A transformation of bodies with technology.

As humans evolve along with technology,

也把玩那个由来已久的问题：

and the lines between the two become increasingly blurred,

有没有可能在机器身上看到真实人性？

I set out to document our evolution into a new kind of human

我们的感官中，最个人化 且最亲密的可能就是视觉，

and to play with that age-old question:

通常称为灵魂之窗。

Can we ever see a real humanness in machines?

透过眼睛，我们彼此关联、 认出彼此、和彼此沟通。

Sight is perhaps the most personal and intimate of our senses.

Classically called the window to the soul.

如果失去一只眼睛， 我们可能会装上义眼，

让面孔看起来和以前差不多。

We connect with each other, recognize each other

导演罗勃‧史班斯更进一步，

and communicate with each other through our eyes.

他在义眼上装了摄影机，

If we lose an eye, we might wear a dummy replacement

让他录下他所看见的。

so that our face resembles what it did before.

罗勃是公开赛博格身份的一员，

Filmmaker Rob Spence took that a step further

他告诉我，他很奇怪

when he installed a video camera in his replacement eye

自己竟会收到别人的攻击信件，

so that he could record his vision.

这些人觉得受到 他这项额外能力的威胁。

Rob is part of a known network of cyborgs

难道他改变自己身体的权力 没有他们的隐私权重要吗？

and he told me that he found it curious

when he started to receive hate mail from people

who felt threatened by him having this extra ability.

当我为罗勃照相时，

他也用他眼睛中的摄影机拍我，

Was his right to change his body

我们把它录在一个特殊的接收器上。

less important than their right to their privacy?

但是，或许是要回应现在大家 如此快速地动作出产影像，

So as I photographed Rob,

he filmed me using the camera in his eye,

我要慢速而有目的地做我的作品。

and we recorded it on a special receiver.

这些影像大都是用 一个大型的照相机拍的，

But perhaps in response to the speed with which we all move

and make images these days

这些大而笨重，

每次拍一片就需要换底片。

I wanted to make this work in a way that was slow and purposeful.

要调焦距，

你得把头埋在黑布底下，

Most of these images are shot on a large-format camera.

用放大镜调焦。

These are big and cumbersome,

当我用这很古老的科技为罗勃照相时，

taking only one frame at a time before you have to change the film.

他用他眼睛里的摄影机拍我，

To check the focus,

you have to put your head under a black cloth

可谓科技新旧的两个极端。

and use a magnifying glass.

So as I photographed Rob using this very old technology,

我想深入探索

我们失去一个肢体而用科技来取代 可能会是什么情形。

he filmed me using the camera in his eye,

somewhat the opposite end of the technology spectrum.

在麻省理工学院媒体实验室，

他们正在进行最尖端 生物机械电子的研究，

But I wanted to delve deeper

and explore more of what it could mean to lose a part of ourselves

发展电动义肢给截肢者用。

最早是修斯·合尔创立，

and replace it with technology.

他是个双截肢者，能够 在自己身上开发和测试设备。

At MIT Media Lab

they are doing some of the most cutting-edge work in biomechatronics,

他继续创造了一套能走、 能跑甚至能跳的腿，

developing motorized limbs for amputees.

Originally set up by Hugh Herr,

a double amputee who was able to develop and test the equipment on himself.

看起来一点也不会机械化。

那步伐很像人的腿和脚，

He went on to create a set of legs that can walk,

因为马达给穿戴者离地的推力，

run and even jump

without seeming to be mechanical at all.

把脚从脚踝推向前。

这项科技

The gait more closely resembles that of a human foot and leg

由马太·卡尼和麻省理工学院的 同事继续发展中，

because the motor gives the wearer a push off the floor

很让人印象深刻。

义肢可以直接连接到 截肢者的骨头上而更稳定，

to move the foot forwards from the ankle.

The technology here,

感测器可以读取截肢者肌肉的脉搏，

continuing to be developed by Matt Carney and his colleagues at MIT,

告诉义肢如何移动。

is really quite impressive,

with the prosthesis connecting directly into the amputee's bone for stability,

最后，穿戴义肢的人 应该可以想要怎么动

义肢就照样动。

and sensors reading pulses from the amputee's muscles

义肢本身看起来就很壮观，

to tell the limb how to move.

但是当然，义肢不会自己动起来。

Ultimately, the wearer should be able to think about moving their foot

为了彰显义肢和人们的关系，

and the foot would move.

我要表现出它们如何让截肢者 轻松流畅地移动。

They're impressive to look at by themselves.

But of course, the prostheses don't move on their own.

只是步伐怎么照相？

In order to show their relationship to humans,

这时，埃德沃德·迈布里奇的照片 和作品的启发了我，

I wanted to show how they enable amputees to move with ease and fluidity.

他成名之作是摄于 1878 年 马跑动的一系列照片，

But how do you photograph gait?

证明了马的四只脚 有同时离地的一瞬间。

At this point, I was inspired by the work and photographs

of Eadweard Muybridge,

who is famous for his series of images of a running horse, made in 1878,

他继续完成了几百个 动物和人运动中的照片系列，

to prove that there's a moment when all four of the horse's feet

那是创时代的作品，

让我们第一次有机会 研究运动的生理结构。

are off the ground at the same time.

He went on to make hundreds of series of images of animals and humans in motion.

所以我要尝试创造出 类似的运动研究，

It was groundbreaking work

截肢者如何运用这科技 而行走、跑步、跳跃，

and gave us one of the first opportunities to study the anatomy of motion.

把它们当作增进机能人们 的运动研究。

So I wanted to try and create similar kinds of motion studies

of amputees walking, running, jumping, using this technology,

我在麻省理工学院学到的事之一

and to think of them as motion studies of an enhanced human motion.

是平衡的重要性，

还有复杂的肌肉和反应系统

让我们能够靠双脚站立。

One of the things I learned at MIT

我们当中有小孩的， 就会怀念地记得

was the incredible importance of balance

他们走出第一步的时刻。

and the complex system of reactions and muscles

that enable us to stand on two feet.

但是，我们想来很甜蜜的事，

事实上是令人难以置信的 平衡和抗衡的成就,

Those of us with children will remember with fond nostalgia

这是很不容易的。

the moment our kids take their first steps.

这是我女儿罗乐蕾第一次 不需要扶助而站立，

But what we think of as endearing

is actually an incredible feat of balance and counterbalance.

总共只撑了几秒钟。

It can be quite daunting.

尤其是跳舞，完全在于平衡 和掌握移动的流畅。

This is my daughter Lorelei standing for the first time

without any support.

图中的坡莉安娜两岁时 在车祸中丧失去了一条腿，

It lasted only a few seconds.

她学会用叶片状义肢跳舞，

Dance, in particular,

is all about balance and mastering the fluidity of movement.

她现在和正常人一起参加班级比赛。

Pollyanna here lost her leg in an accident when she was just two years old.

但是用两条腿移动 应付往往不平的地面的技巧

She's learned to dance with the aid of a blade prosthesis

and she now competes in a class alongside nonamputees.

要复制在义肢上实在无比艰难。

But the skill of moving around on two legs

在慕尼黑技术大学 他们发展出罗菈，

and navigating often uneven ground

一个人形有两条腿的机器人， 她可以靠两腿

is incredibly difficult to replicate.

超越一系列的障碍。

Over at Munich's technical university they've developed LOLA,

当她大步走的时候， 她看来有力量、令人印象深刻。

但是她的行动也有点 笨拙且机械化，

a biped humanoid robot that can move on two legs

没有人类的自然或不可预测。

and make her way around a series of obstacles.

As she strides along, she looks powerful and impressive.

最后，当她被关掉，

她垂挂在一团电线上看似孤苦伶仃。

But her movement is also somewhat clunky and mechanical

在那一刻，我觉得她 比在行走时更像人类，

and not as spontaneous or unpredictable as that of humans.

At the end of it all, when she switched off,

我几乎为她被关掉而感到惋惜。

she hung down on her cables and looked kind of forlorn.

她的外表可能冷酷且机械化，

And in that moment, I saw her as more human

但我觉得她柔弱时看来更是真实。

than I had done when she was walking along.

I felt almost sorry that she had been switched off.

亚力·路易斯是个四截肢者，

Her exterior might be cold and mechanical,

他因为链球菌感染而 失去四肢和脸的一部分，

but when vulnerable, she looked more real to me.

他是我所遇到过最激励人心的人，

Alex Lewis is a quadruple amputee

他恢复的旅程无比艰难。

who lost his limbs and part of his face when he fell ill with strep A.

现在他的手臂里有一个晶片 用来开他的前门，

One of the most inspiring people I have ever met.

一组机械手臂，

还有一辆手动车代步。

His journey to recovery has been an incredibly tough one.

取决于他在做什麽，

也许是丢球给狗，骑手动车， 甚至划独木舟，

He now has a chip in his arm to open his front door,

a set of mechanical arms,

他有不同的手可以连结在手臂上。

and a handcycle to get around.

Depending on what he is doing,

这个旅程一路艰难，

be it throwing a ball for the dog, riding his handcycle, or even canoeing,

但面临这些困难给亚力超人的雄心。

he has a different set of hands that he attach to the end of his arms.

他真诚地告诉我，

It's been a very tough journey,

这些苦楚是发生在他身上最好的事。

but the hardships he's faced have given Alex a superhuman ambition.

他现在到处探险，去非洲爬山，

He genuinely told me

计划手动车横跨蒙古，

that his ordeal is the best thing that ever happened to him.

他也和伦敦帝国学院合作，

协助发展电动手， 就像麻省理工学院发展的脚一样。

He now goes on expeditions, climbing mountains in Africa,

he's planning to cycle across Mongolia,

他的身体也许没有以前管用，

and he works with London’s Imperial College,

但是明白自己的缺点

helping to develop a motorized hand,

使亚力在情绪上非常坚强，

much like the legs they are developing at MIT.

也为他开启了整个世界的机会。

He may be less physically able than before,

这让我了解到，

but understanding his weaknesses

has made Alex emotionally very strong

我们的情绪和明白我们身体上的限制

and opened up a world of opportunity for him.

也是让我们坚强的一大部分。

在大坂，

It made me realize

that our emotions and understanding the limits of our physicality

我遇到石黑教授，

他造的机器人有不寻常的人脸和表情。

are also a huge part of what makes us strong.

首先，我遇到杰米诺，

In Osaka

是他以自己的形象创造的机器人。

I meet professor Ishiguro,

这里的四张照片有三张是那机器人，

who makes robots with uncannily human faces and expressions.

一张是那教授。

First, I meet Geminoid,

你能分辨出谁是谁？

the robot he created in his own likeness.

他一个近期的创作是依布其，

On the grid here you can see three pictures of the robot,

一个模仿 10 岁男孩长相的机器人，

one of the professor.

它可以招手和表现许多脸部表情。

Can you tell which is which?

在那些表情里，我看到一些柔弱

One of his more recent creations is Ibuki,

使依布其让我感觉到更真实。

a robot made to look like a ten-year-old boy,

who can wave and show a range of facial expressions.

当他生气或悲伤，能激起共鸣。

In those expressions, I saw a certain vulnerability

当他微笑，我想要微笑回去。

that made Ibuki feel very real to me.

我发觉我被依布其吸引， 像被一个真的小孩吸引一样。

When he was angry or sad, it resonated.

结束的时候，

我觉得想要谢谢他， 或伸手去握他的手。

And when he smiled, I wanted to smile back.

I feel I was drawn to Ibuki as I might have been to a real child.

所以如果了解我们身体上的限制，

And at the end of it all,

可以使我们更坚强；

I felt I wanted to thank him or reach out and shake his hand.

同样地，看到像依布其柔弱的表情

在我看来使他更像真人。

So if understanding the limits of our physicality

所以未来是什么光景？

can help to make us stronger,

在东京，我遇到竹内教授，

then seeing the vulnerability in Ibuki's expressions

他在发展一种合成的肌肉，

made him feel more human to me.

可以用电波使它有

So where do we go from here?

伸长或缩短的反应， 就像肌肉一样。

In Tokyo, I meet professor Takeuchi

这样做，这小小的肢体就会来回移动。

who's developed a form of synthetic muscle

这个样本的确很小，

that can respond to an electric pulse

不妨想象一下

and expand or contract just like a real muscle.

用这技术制造义肢的可能性。

As it does so, the little limb here moves back and forth.

如果可以再结合科技

Now this sample is only tiny,

读取截肢者肢体末端的 神经讯号，又会如何？

but imagine the possibilities

if synthetic limbs could be made out of this.

也许义肢可以有触觉， 感觉到东西热或尖锐，

And what if that could be combined with the technology

传送讯息回到大脑，

that reads nerve pulses from the end of an amputee's limb?

就像是我们身体会做的一样，

Perhaps it could respond to touch and feel something hot or sharp,

知道这些柔弱面也会使科技更坚强。

sending a message back up to our brains,

在作这个专辑的整个过程，

just like it does in our body.

我遇到许多不得了的人，

Understanding those vulnerabilities would make the technology stronger too.

有的用科技，有的创造科技。

我看到了我们将如何不可思议地

修复和增强我们身体的可能性。

Throughout the course of making this work,

I've met some incredible people,

但我也曾经对机器人微笑，

both using and creating technology.

看过小女孩用叶片义肢跳在空中，

I've seen crazy possibilities

for how we'll mend and enhance our bodies.

握过没有手的人的手，

But I've also smiled at a robot,

他在情感上远远高过我们。

seen a young girl leap through the air on a blade

由此我对人体的复杂度深感敬畏，

and shaken the hand of a man with no hands

但是，我也觉得不管是不是真肉体， 使我们坚强的不只是身体，

who towers emotionally above us all.

I'm left in awe of the complexity of the human body.

而是我们的情感和我们对缺点的了解。

But I also feel that it's not just our bodies,

我喜欢把这些成果当成探讨，

bionics or not,

是我们可以回来仔细观察的，

that make us strong,

but our emotions and understanding our weaknesses.

是我们演化途中的一个点，

But I'd like to think of these works as studies,

直到时间淹没一切。

something that we can come back to

谢谢。

and carefully observe.

A point in our evolution

before time runs away with us all.

Thank you.