Cyborg

A being that integrates both organic and technological components, extending human capabilities through mechanical or digital augmentation. In disability studies and accessibility research, the cyborg concept has been applied to understand how people with disabilities who use assistive technologies—from hearing aids and prosthetic limbs to telepresence robots—become human-technology hybrids with both new abilities and new limitations. This framing, developed by scholars like Donna Haraway and applied to disability by researchers including Jennifer Rode and Remi Williams, challenges the binary distinction between "disabled" and "able-bodied" by recognizing that technology simultaneously enables and constrains. For accessibility practitioners, the cyborg lens helps understand that assistive technologies don't simply "fix" disabilities but create new assemblages of abilities that must be supported by environments and social practices.