Sensors

The Anthropocene Project. An Encyclopedia

Sensors on the skin, in our eyes and ears make it possible for us to see, to listen, to feel. Even if only in a limited way. Humanity is not capable of looking into the layers of the earth, for this we need technology. Prostheses of the human that relentlessly illuminate matter, looking into the stone layers or making the invisible visible at border controls, at the airport, on the sea. What about machines’ sense of tact? How sensitive can these sensors be? As romantic as the notion of the extension of the human arsenal of perception might be, it also includes the hope of a quasi-divine optimization. But what about human fallibility? Behind fully automatized lie detectors, there are algorithms programmed by human beings. The same thing is true of drones or laptops. Human machines that have quickly become irreplaceable for our perception. It is time to reexamine this new sensibility, including its preferences and fallibilities.