Between Archetypes & Myths: Machine as a Projection of the Human Self

Machine as a projection of the human selfFaciamus machinam ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram.Let us make the machine in our image and likeness.

Before machines became motors, engines and computers, the word already meant something broader:an ingenious means by which something becomes possible.

Greek mythology gives us an extraordinary laboratory of artificial beings.Athena represents intelligent making.Hephaestus represents the workshop in which artifacts begin to act.

Artificial beings are not merely tools.They become surfaces onto which humans project desire, identity and self-understanding.

Some artificial beings do not imitate us primarily as workers or companions.They stand between inside and outside.They decide who may approach, enter or survive.

A machine can do more than move.It can contain knowledge unavailable to its operators.The mythical Argo gives us an extraordinary example.

The Golem introduces another extraordinary structure:matter + symbolic information → agent

Human — Can we manufacture ourselves?Servant — Can we delegate labor?Prosthesis — Can we extend ourselves?Lover — Can we manufacture intimacy?Protector — Can we delegate protect...

We first imagined machines as versions of ourselves.Then we built machines that extended parts of ourselves.Eventually we built machines capable of modifying themselves through ...