60-second Science

In this episode of Science Quickly, author Vanessa Chang discusses her book The Body Digital: A Brief History of Humans and Machines from Cuckoo Clocks to ChatGPT. The book explores how technologies—from handwriting to smartphones and AI—don’t just extend human capability but subtly reshape our bodies, behaviors and relationships, raising urgent questions about connection, design and the meaning of being human in an increasingly algorithmic world. Recommended Reading: The Body Digital. Vanessa Chang. Melville House, 2025 E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more