She really is a remarkable little machine, as daring as the brave little toaster, as relentless as the little engine that could and as endearing as R2-D2. In effect, our machines are becoming more human in nature. On the flip side of this humanizing evolution of machinery is the mechanization of humans. The more we learn how the body works, the more it seems to be just another machine. The brain runs on electrical impulses, the heart is a fuel pump, the stomach a gas tank, the intestines a carburetor and the liver a filter.
Medical mechanics use scalpels for wrenches and rachets and lasers to solder and weld.
And when an organ fails, we can sometimes get a replacement part from a human junk yard. Recently, scientists have been able to manufacture new parts by growing cell colonies in biodegradable molds, building new bladders and windpipes for sheep, a kidney for a rat and leg muscles for a rabbit. Brand new human spare parts are probably just a generation away. Then you have the whole cloning thing, where scientists are reaching the capability to mass produce a certain genetic being. While mass producing people may be beyond moral limitations, it soon won't be beyond technical capabilities.