Computers are getting smaller, faster, smarter. Some are invading our bodies, while others are taking on lives of their own. Humans are becoming more mechanized, while computers are acquiring personalities, emotions and even desires. As human and machine continue to merge, what does this mean for the future of the human body? Is this the end of evolution as we know it? Or is this the beginning of the next unfathomable stage?
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Beyond Humanventures to the unbelievable frontiers of bioengineering, robotics and microcomputing, where the line between carbon and silicon is beginning to blur. From chips in the eye to robots in the bloodstream, the excitement and promise of this new age is being felt in ever more far-flung locations. We go from the robot kingdom of Japan, to Melbourne, Australia. From labs around the US and Europe to Tehran,Iran, home of the world champion robotic soccer team. As better bodies and faster brains are built for humanoid robots, what will be our place in a world full of sentient machines? Will life imitate the apocalyptic scenarios depicted in films like The Terminator? Or will we simply upload our souls into mechanical bodies and free ourselves, once and for all, from nature's flawed endowment? |
A coproduction with PBS and Devillier Donegan Enterprises.
Part One, "Body Electric," premieres on PBS at 8pm on May 15th. Part Two, "Living Machines," premieres at 8pm on May 22nd.
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Last updated January 19, 2005
