As we have seen, the question of the nature of embodiment is not a mere artifact of the new technologies but arises from examples closer to hand. Nonetheless some newer technologies have a way of bringing the issues into greater relief. Con…As we have seen, the question of the nature of embodiment is not a mere artifact of the new technologies but arises from examples closer to hand. Nonetheless some newer technologies have a way of bringing the issues into greater relief. Con…And a thing happens in my head. Exactly where, I say to myself, is Hawking? Am I any closer to him now than I was outside? Who is it doing the talking up there on the stage? In an important sense, Hawking doesn’t stop being Hawking at the e…
Stephen Hawking
scientist · 4 mentions across 2 readings
In this course
Hawking appears in the course readings as an exemplary case of disembodied presence and technological mediation—his voice synthesizer and public persona raise fundamental questions about where identity and consciousness reside when the body becomes a technological prosthesis. The excerpt suggests that the question of embodiment versus disembodied communication, central to both AI theory and cybernetics, is not merely theoretical but lived and visible in Hawking's figure, making him a crucial reference point for thinking through how intelligence and selfhood can be distributed across biological and mechanical systems.
Background
Stephen William Hawking was an English theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world.
Wikipedia →Mentioned in 2 readings
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