Human-Machine Hybridity and the Future of Digital Literature

I’ve noticed addictive elements in some of the digital literature I’ve examined during the course. Interactivity, immediate feedback, and the game-like and often shorter nature of some texts all contribute to keep me more interested than I might be in more traditional literary forms such as the novel. I think these addictive elements directly stimulate chemical-based emotional reactions, and help to short-cut some of the requirement for cognitive introspection which might be required when concentrating on a longer-form piece.

The rewards are certainly there when I spend time and effort on a novel, but whether through lack of time, or a lacklustre attention span, in recent years I’m less inclined to read them, and I’m increasingly drawn to literature  with more immediate payoffs. Clicking a hyperlink and discovering something surprising, or following a forking path to a destination where my choice has affected the outcome, or marvelling at how an original use of graphics or audio or movement has added to a text, lends a sense of immediacy and investment to the piece that is compelling for me. Immediate gratification (parallels here with using social media!) is addictive.

Humanity is at a relatively early stage with electronics (it’s only 70 years since the invention of the transistor – we’ve achieved a lot since then), and nano- and bio-technology are recently developed fields on the cusp of making great contributions. What will further scientific discovery mean as we advance towards human-machine hybridity? Researchers studying paralysed patients have been able to assist them to move a mouse-pointer on a screen, using only their brainwaves. Work on electronic-assisted telepathic communication looks promising. Future electronic implants may allow Matrix-like instant uploads of experiences and knowledge into our brains (I’m not so sure about wisdom though).

What could electronic implants mean for literature? Psychologically, our engagement with texts may be greatly changed. As separation between human and machine lessens, we may become so immersed that there appears to be no separation at all between fiction and reality. The joining of digital and neurological circuits may be so seamless that we forget they are there, or begin to perceive them to be natural.

With such changes, the elements of future stories, in addition to current objects like words, sounds, and images, could also contain direct digital-biological triggers. Electronic circuits and neurological circuits could be integrated until they are effectively the same thing. Specific neurons could be targeted by digital signals, and emotional reactions in the brain could occur due to such stimulation, without the acts of reading, introspection, thought and processing being required at all. Direct access to our emotions and memories may be possible, with a change in how we experience stories as a result.

Effectively, the gap between narrator and reader could disappear entirely, to the extent that a reader may feel that they are not experiencing someone else’s story, but that the story is their story, that it actually happened to them, and they are the narrator. Lines between fiction and non-fiction could become blurred. This could allow for the development of exciting literary experiences, but also forces us to ponder many philosophical and ethical aspects.

Potentially exciting, and scary, times ahead! How likely is any of this to happen? I have an appointment at the neuroscience department next week. I’ll let you know how it goes!