Transformation of body functions in the era of artificial intelligence

The article considers the features of the body functioning in the era of the widespread introduction of digital technologies, primarily artificial intelligence. First, the authors show how body studies developed in social sciences and humanities - from the ancient ideas about the body to the contemporary concepts with a wide range of issues, approaches and theories that address the category of the body from various positions. Then the basic functions of the body are considered: identity formation, communicative, and functions of a cultural model, political control and subjective experience. The authors describe the transformation of these functions under the increasing convergence of the human body with the latest technologies, focusing on the functions of subjective experience, identity formation, and communicative function. The authors analyze the convergence of the body and technical devices, showing how their hybrids arise as the distance between them decreases. The article outlines the main smart technologies (smart watches and fitness bracelets, smart rings, smart clothing, smart implants, sleep monitors, VR and AR technologies) and key aspects of people’s interaction with smart devices in the perspective of physiology, psychology, social interaction and work efficiency. There is a dual question of the relationship between the body and artificial intelligence technologies: transformations of the human body in the era of the latest digital technologies, with the acquisition of new qualities and properties by the body; and the acquisition of corporeality by artificial intelligence technologies, including social consequences of the convergence of the body and technologies - both positive (improved quality of life and medical care, expanded opportunities for some social groups, etc.) and negative (dependence on technologies, growth of social inequality, etc.). The conclusion highlights the need for a more in-depth study of the issues under consideration and outlines more controversial issues within the interaction between man and technology.