“Language has been a bodily process; it now extends beyond the human, forming a porous boundary in the human-machine nexus.” (Class 2: How We Read)
In the age of planetary urbanization and artificial intelligence, the HUMAN-MACHINE NEXUS emerges as a critical site of inquiry. The interconnection between human cognition, technological augmentation, and urban processes compels us to rethink how we read, write, and design within increasingly computational environments. This seminar was the catalyst for me to begin examining the implications of this nexus within urban theory, particularly focusing on how it challenges traditional practices and expands our EPISTEMOLOGICAL horizons.
The HUMAN-MACHINE POROSITY in particular peaked my interest. AI has begun to blur what we recognize as human cognition and machine processes. New AI developments allows us to move beyond human limitations or machine limitations and create a collaborative dialogue between humans and machines in hopes of designing for a better future. In this future human cognition is no longer distinct from machines and the way we think is altered based on our interactions.
This porosity in collaborative thinking enables a more nuanced approaches to urban planning. AI can process multiscalar data (social, environmental, political), at a rate impossible for humans, to create adaptive, inclusive designs that respond dynamically to urban challenges like climate change or resource allocation. It is important to remember that this collaboration has ethical implications. It begs the questions of who created this AI and, therefore, what biases are embedded in its responses. Also, if it is a one sided conversation with AI, then the authorship and originality of the work is to be questioned. Hopefully, with further exploration, this nexus can help address crisis as the global scale.
KEYWORDS
HUMAN-MACHINE NEXUS: The interconnected relationship between humans and machines, highlighting how technologies influence, extend, and integrate with human activities and cognition. In the context of urban theory, this nexus explores how computational tools and artificial intelligence enhance or reshape our ability to understand, create, and interact with urban systems, knowledge structures, and environments.
EPISTEMOLOGICAL: Relates to the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, scope, and validity of knowledge. In the age of the Human-Machine Nexus this reflects how the human-machine nexus alters the way we acquire and process knowledge about urban spaces, moving beyond traditional frameworks to incorporate computational and collaborative methods.
HUMAN-MACHINE POROSITY: the increasingly fluid and interconnected boundary between human cognition and machine processes.
EXTRAS
Essay 01. READING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Katherine Hayles’ “How We Read” explores and questions the topics of close reading, hyper-reading, machine reading, and cognitive load in relation to the reality of reading today. While written in 2010, this essay has many current applications and abstractions usable in understanding the connection between human and machine reading.
Essay 02. WHAT IS URBAN TODAY
Neil Brenner’s “What is Critical Urban Theory” and Ananya Roy’s “What is Urban Theory”. both discuss Critical Urban Theory with different contexts and views of Planetary Urbanization. Concepts of rural, urban and the constitutive outside all help to explain their stances.
Essay 03. STATIC OR DYNAMIC
In David Harvey’s “Cities of Urbanization”, “city” is redefined and urbanization is viewed as a planetary condition. He critiques engineering cities as a solution to inequities.
Essay 04. HOW CAN WE HARMONIZE INTELLIGENCES
Benjamin Bratton’s “Planetary Sapience” expands upon the traditional views of artificial intelligence and uses the term synthetic intelligence to describe true intelligence between humans and machines. He expressed desire to connect automation and terraforming for a new vision of planetary sapience.
