Flesh Without Blood: (Re)locating Embodiment in Technology

The social/technology divide has eclipsed our understanding of the many ways in which the two are interconnected. In this thesis I examine the interplay of the social and technological through the lens of embodiment. In particular, I focus on the ways in which bodies become located, relocated and even dislocated, in interaction with technologies. My approach is an analytical synthesis informed by three examinations: The art of Mariko Mori; the ‘robot’ social media influencer @lilmiquela; and applications of artificial intelligence on the human body. These examinations can be thought of as thought experiments, case studies or musings to help explore the possibilities for bodies rendered through technologies. Through the complex interaction with technologies, embodiment is affected and the question of where bodies begin and end becomes a productive way to think about sociological processes of identity and power