Trigger Article: Internet Hypocrisy

Fig 1. The Internet (2014)

Online privacy and what we are entitled to is an on-going issue. Many feel we should have more entitlement when it comes to our online data whilst others say that we should have no rights, as we should be aware of the risks that come with posting private information online. "Privacy is not an absolute right” according to GCHQ chief Robert Hannigan.

Last month it was reported that a Russian run website was offering live streams of British households, "the danger of using weak passwords has been exposed again" (Rice, 2014), the website hacked into over 500 webcams across Britain by guessing weak passwords. Our right to privacy is only as strong as a hacker's determination to break through security protocols put in place.

Another controversial incident that happened in October 2014 was the hacking of celebrities' private photos; these photos were distributed online for the public to view.  One celebrity involved was Jennifer Lawrence; in a statement released she states, “just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this” (Lawrence, 2014). Many feel that because celebrities are in the public eye they do not deserve privacy, "celebrities can't expect to be able to pick and choose when they want attention" (debate.org, 2014). Little sympathy was given to Lawrence on the leak of her private photos, thousands users shared them round on Facebook and retweeted them on Twitter. 

In regards to the incident Jim Norton states "it has pitted our feeling of overwhelming entitlement to other people’s private information in direct contrast with our mortal terror that any of our own private information may somehow be made public." (Norton, 2014).  Most are happy to participate or revel in others misfortune however if a privacy breach ever affected them directly it would be a different story.

Fig 2. Cory Doctorow [Youtube Video] (2012)

In 2012 Cory Doctorow, a Canadian journalist and author, gave an insightful talk about privacy online. He talks about 'the privacy bargain’, this refers to the deal users make with the social networking sites they use; generally the deal involves handing over personal data in return for a free service. For example, Facebook users are only able to make an account if they submit their name, date of birth and email address and most people hand over this information without a blink of an eye. Doctorow says that users undervalue their personal data, “it’s hard to get worked up about things where the failure and the deed are separated by a long way” (Doctorow, 2012), users find it difficult to assign a value to personal data, therefore they don't think deeply about the implications of handing over personal information. 

R.B Sparkman claims that intermittent reinforcement motivates human behavior on social networking sites, "in exchange for posting status updates, photos and other information, Facebook users are intermittently rewarded with attention from people they care about." (imperva.com, 2014). 

Whilst researching I came across a few interesting statistics, A report by the American Life Project found that "91% of 12 - 17 year olds are happy to post photos of themselves, 91% their real name, 82% their birthday, 71% the town they live in and school they attend, 20% their mobile number'. (Fishwick and Freeman, 2013) This raises the question, are social networking sites and general society doing enough to teach privacy safety to the modern generation?

Bibliography

Figure 1, 'The Internet' (2014) [picture of the internets structure] At: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jacobmorgan/files/2014/05/internet-of-things-2.jpg [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014]

Figure 2, Big Tent, 2012. Cory Doctorow Keynote. [Online]. [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xtsyH4i2Qk

Norton, J. (2014). We're All Hypocrites About Online Privacy. [online] TIME.com. Available at: http://time.com/3319605/online-privacy-hypocrisy/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014]

Lawrence, J. (2014). Cover Preview: Jennifer Lawrence Calls Photo Hacking a “Sex Crime”. [online] Vanity Fair. Available at: http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/10/jennifer-lawrence-cover [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014]

Fishwick, C. and Freeman, H. (2013). What teenagers think about Facebook's new privacy controls. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/25/what-teenagers-think-about-facebooks-new-privacy-controls [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014]

Debate.org, (2014). Do celebrities have a right to privacy?. [online] Available at: http://www.debate.org/opinions/do-celebrities-have-a-right-to-privacy?nsort=1&ysort=5 [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014].

Imperva.com, (2014). How People Value Data Privacy | Imperva Data Security Blog. [online] Available at: http://blog.imperva.com/2011/09/how-people-value-data-privacy.html [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014]

Rice, S in Neal, D and Moore-Colyer, R (2014). Russian webcam spy site shut down: 'I don't want to be a bad guy', says owner. [online] V3.co.uk. Available at: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2382511/russians-hacking-into-webcams-showing-live-footage-from-uk-offices-shops-and-baby-monitors [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].

Sparkman, R. B. (1979). The Art of Manipulation. Doubleday Publishing.

Choice Post: Virtual Reality

Fig.1 Virtual Reality (2014)

Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-simulated environment that mimics physical presence in real or imagined worlds. "Put on the goggles, go nowhere, and be transported anywhere." (Schnipper, 2014).

The idea of 'virtual reality' has been around for years. In 1965 Ivan Sutherland wrote a famous essay talking about 'the ultimate display'. "The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal." (Sutherland, 1965). This essay sparked a curiosity around virtual reality and not long after the development of VR technologies started. Jaron Lanier is another famous pioneer for immersive multimedia. He first started commercialising virtual reality technologies in 1980 with the company VLR Research he set up with Thomas Zimmerman, his company was the first to start producing VR products, however 10 years later the company went bankrupt.

Fig.2 Oculus Rift [Youtube Video] (2014)

Recently a significant breakthrough in VR has happened, Oculus Rift is an emerging piece of technology developed by Palmer Luckey, and will soon be released to the public in early 2015. The Oculus Rift headset will allow users, for the first time ever, to physically immerse themselves in and interactive with a digital environment. In March 2014 Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion, developers are saying that 'this purchase signals a promising, yet slightly unclear, future for virtual reality'. 

Whilst researching I came across an interesting article about artist Mark Farid, titled 'how to live for a month in virtual reality'. Farid plans on spending 28 days wearing a virtual reality headset living in a simulated world for a show called 'Seeing I'. His reason behind this experiment? “It’s to see if who we are is an individual identity, or if there is just a cultural identity that kind of takes us on... When I come out, it will be with someone else’s recent memories and, I hope, a little of their perspective on life." (Farid, 2014). Can we become somebody else with the help of virtual reality?

However many critics and even game producers themselves have said that gaming isn't ready for virtual reality, "We are concerned that you'll play our games for a long period of time -- and we don't want people getting nauseated." (Zelnick, 2014). 'Cyber-addiction' is the main issue producers are concerned about, they don't want users becoming addicted and as a consequence, start to "blur the boundaries between real and virtual" (Markos and Labreque, 2008). Another concern is about 'user desensitisation' some are worried that users will become too used to violence and extreme behaviour that they start failing to show compassion or empathy as a result and see it as a norm.

Although there are some doubts surrounding VR in the gaming community in the medical world Virtual Reality has been praised for helping with rehabilitation. "VR technology could be used as adjuvant therapy to other proven successful interventions (ie, constraint-induced therapy). As such, it provides hope for enhancing motor function and improving quality of life in stroke survivors." (Saposnik et al, 2010), this was the conclusion from research carried out with stroke patients, they found that using the Nintendo Wii with patients sped up the rehabilitation process and they saw significant improvements after just eight weeks. Virtual reality technology allows patients to have fun and play around whilst also completing their rehabilitation process.

Fig.3 Kinect Rehabilitation (2012)

Bibliography

Figure 1. 'Virtual Reality' (2014) [photo of man and headset] At: http://www.theverge.com/a/virtual-reality [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014]

Figure 2. Hoopermation. 2014. Oculus Rift DK2 - My Dad Tries the Rift! [Online]. [Accessed: 19 Nov. 2014] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANGdqNFVegc

Figure 3. Brontes Processing (2012) Kinect Rehabilitation. [Online]. Available from: http://vimeo.com/35329556 [Accessed: 19 Nov. 2014]

Oculus VR, (2014). Oculus VR | Oculus Rift - Virtual Reality Headset for Immersive 3D Gaming. [online] Available at: http://www.oculus.com [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].

Schnipper, M. (2014). The Rise and Fall and Rise of Virtual Reality. [online] The Verge. Available at: http://www.theverge.com/a/virtual-reality [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].

Saposnik, G., Teasell, R., Mamdani, M., Hall, J., McIlroy, W., Cheung, D., Thorpe, K., Cohen, L. and Bayley, M. (2010). Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Using Wii Gaming Technology in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial and Proof of Principle. Stroke, 41(7). 

Markos, E. and Labreque, L. (2008). Blurring the Boundaries between Real and Virtual: Consumption Experiences and the Self Concept in the Virtual World. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v36/NAACR_v36_55.pdf [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].

Sutherland, Ivan E. (1965). "The Ultimate Display". Proceedings of IFIP Congress. [Retrieved 19 Nov. 2014].

Farid, M. in Robertson, A. (2014). What would it be like to spend a month in virtual reality?. [online] The Verge. Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/18/7235895/seeing-i-artist-to-spend-a-month-in-virtual-reality [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].

Zelnick in Albert, B. (2014). Take-Two CEO: Gaming Isn't Ready for Virtual Reality - IGN. [online] IGN. Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/11/19/take-two-ceo-gaming-isnt-ready-for-virtual-reality [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].

De/coding the Apocalypse

On the 14th November 2014 I traveled into London to visit the 'De/coding the Apocalypse' exhibition held at Somerset House. The exhibition was put together by visual artist Michael Takeo Magruder and explores contemporary creative visions inspired and based upon The Book of Revelation, "thus revelation seems to be an apocalyptic prophecy" (Bauckham, 1993). By combining digital media and theological study the installation aims to "create new ways of looking at an ancient text and make it relevant for modern audiences." (Kcl.ac.uk, 2014).

As we entered the exhibition a long corridor with a number of doors on each side greeted us. There were five separate rooms you could enter, each with their own individual installation inside. The first room I entered was entitled 'playing the apocalypse', in this room were three screens displaying live video footage of the video game gears of war. "Many of the most popular, and indeed, the most violent video games are awash in explicitly religious themes and symbols" (Rosen, 2013). The Book of Revelation has influenced narratives of many imaginary worlds and the idea behind this room is that within war video games we often play to 'win' salvation for humanity, when we play these games we play the apocalypse. 

Apocalypse Forever                        The Horse as Technology

The idea behind the second room 'revelation as a mirror' was to reflect the 'seeing' and visual nature of The Book of Revelation. Within this room were seven examples of artistic responses to the apocalypse displayed on the walls. 

The third room 'apocalypse forever' was made up of walls covered in QR codes, when scanned these codes took the user to Google image searches based on the first verses of The Book of Revelation's 22 chapters. The aim of the room is to represent the 'decoding' of the apocalypse. "Today we inherit not only the text of the apocalypse but a long line of decodings". (Fletcher, 2014). 

The fourth and also my favourite room was titled 'the horse as technology', its aim was to represent cyborgs and technology. The rooms main focus was around 'the horse as a symbol of power', "with the help of bridle and bit, stirrup and spur they become an extension of the human body and will." (Quash, 2014). Within the room there were a number of pieces all relating to horses, 3D models, photographs, scannings, QR codes and interactive computer screens that allowed the user rotate and manipulate a horses head. I found this room really engaging and the use of interactive digital technologies allowed me to explore further into the topic area.

Me using the virtual reality headset (Oculus Rift)!

The fifth and final room was called 'a new Jerusalem'. Outside the room was a brief introduction about the themes and ideas behind the installation:

"The work presented in this room asks the audience to contemplate why we should care about our present society and environment when we are promised that 'a new heaven and a new earth' (Rev 21.2) await us."

Inside the room the audience is welcomed to put on a virtual realilty headset and view a different world. The world the user sees when they put on the headset is a combination of old and new world Jerusalem, this is a subtle suggestion that 'the new world' is not an entirely unrecognisable place. I feel this installation is a really clever way of getting the theme of 'the new world' across to audiences in a modern and engaging way.

Overall my thoughts on the exhibition are greatly positive. The use of interactive and digital technologies was a very good way to interest and get the audience involved with a quite complex biblical text. I feel each interactive installation helped to break down the ideas and themes behind The Book of Revelation and allowed the audience to explore and learn. The use of technologies combined with the biblical text also suggests that we are heading towards an apocalypse ourselves, the vast growth of modern-day technologies may be very dangerous and could potentially cause unexpected consequences, such as another 'apocalypse'. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Somerset house and would definitely recommend the exhibition to others.

Bibliography

Fletcher, Quash (2014). De/coding the Apocalypse. [Booklet]

Rosen, A. (2013). Playing the apocalypse: video games and religion. [Blog] https://newhumanist.org.uk. Available at: https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4382/playing-the-apocalypse-video-games-and-religion [Accessed 16 Nov. 2014].

Bauckham, R. (1993). The theology of the book of Revelation. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press.

King's College London - De/coding the Apocalypse. [online] Available at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/cultural/culturalinstitute/showcase/current/whatson/exhibitions/apocalypse.aspx [Accessed 16 Nov. 2014].

Participative Journalism

Fig.1 Citizen Journalism (2014)

We currently live in a new digital era where news is now broadcast almost everywhere, on the radio, in newspapers, magazines, online via articles and discussion groups, on social networking sites and many more. This has led to a growth in participative journalism, "when the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another." (Rosen, 2008). 

The audience can now be producers as well as consumers of the news. "When major events occur, the public can offer us as much new information as we are able to broadcast to them. From now on, news coverage is a partnership." (Sambrook, 2013). Citizen Journalism makes up a crucial part of the news, many refer to it as the 'first draft' of the story because often citizens can get to the news story before camera crews and real journalists. 

In a 2009 TED Talk Clay Shirky talks about Bill Cheswick's map of the internet. Unlike phones that have a 'one to one' pattern, and radio and television that have a 'one to many' pattern, the world wide web has a 'many to many' pattern. Nowadays the internet is the "motive carriage for all other media" as every medium is accessible online and right next door to each other, the internet allows consumers to 'gather round and talk to each other'. The power of the internet gives anybody the opportunity to capture and distribute news online. 

Whilst researching I came across the CNN iReport Facebook page, "Sharing the news through your eyes. Go to CNNiReport.com or use the CNN app to upload your photos, videos and personal essays". The page has over 300,000 fans. CNN has provided a place for the general public to voice their opinions and become story tellers, they have given users a platform to express themselves. "Digital Storytelling has been a flagship project. It takes the tools of digital media production into communities and enables people to tell their stories in their own way." (Rosen, 2008). However can these stories be trusted? As I researched further I came across an article discussing the trustworthiness of citizen journalism; in 2008 a post was written on iReport by an ordinary citizen about the hospitalisation of Steve Jobs, numerous news stations then picked up this story and took it viral. In the end it was found that the story was faked and the news stations had to issue formal apologies. "The problem with this seemingly efficient and enhanced news system lies in how much credibility to afford the citizens' contributions" (Leibowits, 2014).

Fig.2 Top-Down V Bottom-Up News (2003)

Participatory journalism is a 'bottom-up' phenomenon, as you can see from figure 2, compared to broadcast media it is not interfered with before it is released. Civilian news is often regarded as 'raw' and 'uncut' as no organisation has disrupted the publishing, the news has not been twisted by the media to show us just what they want us to see. “The new interactive medium both threatens the status quo and promises an exciting new way of learning about the world” (Fuller, 1996), Fuller says that participative journalism is changing the news, as essentially everybody is 'a journalist' now. It is an exciting time, as people who might not have had a platform to do so before can now publish their views and opinions to an audience.

Bibliography

Figure 1. 'Citizen Journalism' (2014) [photograph of graffiti] At: http://sharahmak.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/we-are-citizen-journalism.jpg [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014]

Figure 2. 'Top-Down V Bottom-Up News' (2003) [Diagram of news model] At: http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/weblog.php?id=P36 [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014]

Sambrook, R. (2013). Citizen Journalism and the BBC. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.encoreleaders.org+Nieman-Reports-_-Citizen-Journalism-and-the-BBC.pdf [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

Rosen,  J. (2008). PressThink: A Most Useful Definition of Citizen Journalism. [online] Available at: http://archive.pressthink.org/2008/07/14/a_most_useful_d_p.html [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014]. 

Leibowitz, M. (2014). Drawbacks of Citizen Journalism. [online] Salzburg.umd.edu. Available at: http://www.salzburg.umd.edu/lessons/citizen-journalism [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

Fuller, J. (1996). News values. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bowman, S. and Willis, C. (2003). How audiences are shaping the future of news and information. 1st ed.

Shirky, C. (2009). Clay Shirky: How social media can make history [Video File]. Retrived from: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history?language=en

Gamification

Fig.1 Gamification, we can do it! (2013)

Gamification is the process of taking things that are already established, websites, applications, online communities and importing gaming mechanics into their structure. The reason for gamification is to motivate the partaking, involvement and loyalty of users. "In persuasive technology, video games and game aspects have been studied as potential means to shape user behavior in directions intended by the system designer, or to instill embedded values." (Deterding, 2011).

Gamification relies on the basis that most people enjoy playing games, that users become engrossed in playing and don't mind spending time doing so. "This has led to the belief that it is part of human nature, that people are intrinsically motivated to play games and that this motivation can be drawn on to engage people in other contexts as well." (Riemer, 2014). 

Realm Blazer from United Future on Vimeo.

An active example of gamification is the Audax health mobile application 'Realm Blazer'. Users track their movements, the more they move the more of the 'realm' they unlock. Realm Blazer gives the user chances to earn coins and unlock prizes, they also have a leaderboard so users can compete against each other. The aim of the application is to 'inspire people to live healthier lives everyday' by combining exercise and gaming they provide a motivation for users to get moving. 

"When done well, gamification helps align our interests with the intrinsic motivations of our players, amplified with the mechanics and rewards that make them come in, bring friends and keep coming back." (Zichermann and Cunningham, 2011). Another good example of gamification that Cunningham mentions in his book 'Gamification by Design' is when parents play 'aeroplane' with a fork to try and get their children to eat certain foods, by applying gaming mechanisms to dinner time they are influencing and motivating their child to eat foods they otherwise normally wouldn't.

Gamification may sound like it is the answer to get users motivated and participating, however it has come under fire by game creators. One problem they say is the name 'gamification', they state that "by putting the term "game" first, it implies that the entire activity will become an engaging experience, when, in reality, gamification typically uses only the least interesting part of a game - the scoring system." (Nicholson, 2012). This suggests that something claiming to be 'gamified' may come across as misleading and users could be dissapointed.

Another issue that has arisen with gamification is that sometimes it can cause the opposite effect to intended. Klint Finley feels that gamification "shifts a participant's motivation from doing something because it is inherently rewarding to doing it for some other reason that isn't as meaningful" (Finley, 2012). When applied in a work environment, focusing employees on external rewards (such as points and prizes) takes away from the personal internal rewards employees would gain (such as the feeling of satisfaction from helping a customer). 

Bibliography

Figure 1. Gamification, we can do it! (2013) [Poster] At: http://www.blogging4jobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/diy_gamification.jpg (Accessed on 02.11.14)

Riemer, K. (2014). Why work gamification is a bad idea. [Blog] bbr [backed by research]. Available at: http://byresearch.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/why-work-gamification-is-a-bad-idea/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

Nicholson, S. (2012). A User-Centered Theoretical Framework for Meaningful Gamification. 1st ed. [ebook] p.1. Available at: https://uhvpn.herts.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/,DanaInfo=www.quilageo.com+Framework-for-Meaningful-Gamifications.pdf [Accessed 01.11.14].

United Future, 2014, Realm Blazer. [Online]. Available from: http://vimeo.com/85466100. [Accessed: 02.11.14]

Finley, K. (2012). How 'Gamification' Can Make Your Customer Service Worse | WIRED. [online] WIRED. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2012/11/gamification-customer-service/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

Deterding, S. (2011). Gamification. using game-design elements in non-gaming contexts. 1st ed. [ebook] New York. Available at: https://uhvpn.herts.ac.uk/,DanaInfo=dl.acm.org+citation.cfm?id=1979575 [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

Zichermann, G. and Cunningham, C. (2011). Gamification by design. Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly Media.

The Transhuman Movement

Fig.1 Posthumanism (2011)

Transhumanism is a intellectual movement that has slowly developed over the last 20 years. The goal? to alter the human condition by using technology to considerably improve human ability, mentally and physically. "Transhumanists view human nature as a work-in-progress, a half-baked beginning that we can learn to remold in desirable ways." (Bostrom, 2008). Transhumanists are working on developing technologies that will enhance the human race, they are looking for ways to maximize human potential and to give us greater control over our own lives. 

One example of transhuman technology would be cybernetic implants. Michael Chorost was born completely deaf but thanks to a cochlear implant he received in 2001 he was able to hear again. In his memoir titled Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World he talks his feelings towards becoming "a cyborg. Not the Hollywood kind, but a real one nonetheless" (Chorost, 2005). He describes his uncertainties towards the surgery, he states that at first he was upset, uncertain about the device and its capabilities. He was unsure about the control he would have if part of him was a computer but ultimately the device would give him back independence, Michael would be able to hear for the first time. Cybernetic systems are there to improve everyday experience, to help people (like Michael) medically and to ultimately prolong human life. 

Nick Bostrom talks about prolonging lifespan in his 2008 article, "transhumanism stresses the moral urgency of saving lives, or, more precisely, of preventing involuntary deaths among people whose lives are worth living". Bostrom talks about the advantages of immortality and post humanism, he asks us to imagine all the things we could achieve and learn if we had unlimited time available to us, who knows what could be possible (see Fig. 2). However on the other side of things Bernard Williams argues that "immortal life would become tedious" (Williams, 1973), if immortality happens he states that life would lose its importance and interest as there would be no rush or urgency to do anything. 

Fig. 2 The Space of Possible Modes of Being (2008)

Not everybody is for the transhuman movement, many people are unsettled and even frightened by the changes in technology and the effect it could have on human life. "Genetic engineering is widely seen as interfering with God's designs" (Transhumanism.org, 2014), for some people transhumanism is not accepted for cultural reasons, many think the advanced technology prevents God doing his job, and worry that transhumanism could create some sort of 'superhuman race'.

In an recent article written by Andrew Smart he suggests that the 'transhuman movement' could just be a ploy... "Could it be that we've been tricked into pouring out innovative energy into making ourselves better slaves? If the digital elite achieves its dream of a perfect union with machines, what becomes of the rest of us who either can't afford cyborgification or who actually enjoy life as a regular human being?" (Quartz, 2014) Smart brings up the topic of wealth and different social classes. What happens to those with very little, can they be a part of the transhuman movement too or will they simply be left behind?

Bibliography

Figure 1. 'Posthumanism" (2011) [illustration of technological evolution] At: http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111027033258/litinawiredworld/images/6/6e/Posthuman.jpg. [Accessed 26 Oct. 2014]

Figure 2. Space of possible modes of being (2008) [diagram] At: http://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/transhumanist-values.pdf [Accessed 28. Oct. 2014]

Williams, B. (1973). "The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the tedium of immortality" In problems of self. London: Cambridge University Press.

Bostrom, N. (2002). Transhumanist Values. 1st ed. [ebook] Oxford. Available at: http://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/transhumanist-values.pdf [Accessed 16 Nov. 2014].

Transhumanism.org, (2014). Transhumanism?. [online] Available at: http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/transhumanism.htm [Accessed 26 Oct. 2014]

Chorost, M. (2005). Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World. 1st ed

Quartz, (2014). Don’t be afraid of robots—be afraid of becoming one. [online] Available at: http://qz.com/205880/dont-be-afraid-of-robots-be-afraid-of-becoming-one/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2014]