This past term, my DCI 180 class exposed me to numerous new ideas and moral aspects of the digital world. I have studied how digital technologies and trends impact culture, both in real life and in fictional works. However, I think that the addition of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go would only improve the class’s learning experience as it would introduce students to a new aspect of the “Digital Self” through its exploration of technology’s relationship to human identity.
If you have ever read Never Let Me Go, you know what a beautiful piece of literature it is. While Ishiguro’s literal skill is undeniable, it is not the reason why his acclaimed novel should be included in my DCI 180 class. Rather, it is the novel’s focus on what it is that makes us human in the face of technology that makes it a necessary addition to my class’s curriculum. In Ishiguro’s world, clones exist for the sole purpose of organ harvesting. This means that copies of real humans are raised in society until their organs are at an optimal peak for harvesting, so that the clones’s organs can be donated to real humans who need the organs to survive. At a glance, one might harbor some objections to such a troubled world. However, it is through the experience of observing this world through the eyes of a clone (our main character) that may cause one to truly see the humanity that is inherent within the clones. The main character, Kathy H., is a clone with poignant emotions and beautifully raw humanity. She makes mistakes, forgives wrongdoings, falls in love, harbors ambition, messes things up and patches them back together – in other words, she is perfectly human. After reading the novel, that much is apparent (in my view) even despite her true identity as a clone. This clear paradigm (that she can exist as both clone and human) poses multiple questions that relate to the core of my DCI 180 class: What boundaries does technology put on our identity? At what point does technology strip us of our humanity? Can humanity be born from technological origins – or must it always be organically human? At what point is technology so integrated in our society that it is no longer separate from our identities as humans, but is a verifiable aspect of our humanity? Does the presence of technological origins negate the clones’s ability to be human? Is this organ harvesting system an acceptable use of technology? How would the implementation of cloning technology affect the culture of today’s society? Could such a technologically-driven world exist?
The above questions, in my opinion, pull together many of the threads in my DCI 180 class but most strongly complement the theme of the “Digital Self” because they address what it is that makes us human despite or because of digital technology in our lives and how we can use such digital technologies in meaningful and moral ways to enhance our human identities. The novel would allow students to ponder how they can exist in this digital age as individuals with unique interests, goals, strengths, downfalls – and, most importantly, how to do so in a moral way that respects the dignity and humanity of others.
To properly integrate Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, I believe it would be most effective to pair the novel with another reading and a graded assignment. I would ask the students to read the novel alongside Patrick Hopkin’s article “Transhumanism,” as I believe the interplay between Hopkin’s discussion of enhanced human ability through technology (transhumanism) and humans completely derived from technology (the clones discussed in Never Let Me Go) would only enhance the discussion on how technology impacts and alters humanity. Moreover, perhaps Never Let Me Go would offer evidence that technological intervention in human origin does not always implicate a lack of humanity, as one may feel is the case after reading Hopkin’s article on transhumanism. Therefore, these two medias would only serve to complement each other and enable a discussion that truly entertains and acknowledges differing arguments in regards to technology’s role in establishing (or degrading) humanity. Lastly, an activity in which the students must diagram the aspects of their identity and then discuss how technology plays a role (or does not play a role) in each part of their identity would allow for a personal application of these themes. The students would see, individually, how their humanity intersects with digital technologies on a daily basis, only serving to further apply the theme of “Digital Self” to these learning goals and to the class overall.
Works Cited:
- Hopkins, P. D. “Transhumanism.” Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics (Second Edition), edited by Ruth Chadwick, Academic Press, 1 Jan. 2012, pp. 414–22.
- Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Faber and Faver, 2018.