Nonsensi Digitali. Approcci critici per una incorporazione sensoriale integrata bio-digitale

Technological determinism supports the idea of a close relationship between mental struc-tures and the technologies available to society. A relationship in which these technologies, which are becoming more than ever extensions of the human being, are profoundly changing the natural sensory system. Analogue and digital are now in a constant dialogical relationship in which new biological forms are taking shape. The question, therefore, arises as to the role of the senses in such a dematerialised, virtual and conceptual contemporaneity. The interactivity typical of life in cyberspace leads to new projective forms of the nervous system. As a result, the senses evolve and collide with the brain’s constant tendency to remain anchored in the physicality of the body. All this leads to the paradox of high-performance machines replicating sensory capabilities in a cognitive delegation process that leads to the atrophy of natural human sensations. The design discipline should question the contemporary implications of this change. This paper, therefore, assesses the implications and proposes scenarios for exploring future possibilities for such fragile human capabilities.