Cyborg - Future of Mankind
Kanika Narang, B-Tech student at Northern India Engineering College, New Delhi
Introduction
Attachments and interfaces mediate our interaction with the environment and usually are positioned on the surface of the body. Physical objects would be called tools or attachments, while information utilities would be called interfaces. In the same way a neural interface allows human brain communicate directly with a computer, without any other equipment.
An article on neural interfacing in the IEEE Transactions reports that “a Microelectrode capable of recording from and stimulating peripheral nerves at Prolonged intervals after surgical implantation has been demonstrated.” These tiny silicon based arrays were implanted into the peroneal of rats and remained operative for up to 13 months. The ingeniously designed chip is placed in the pathway of the surgically severed nerve. The regenerating nerve grows through a matrix of holes in the chip, while the regenerating tissue surrounding it anchors the device in place. This chip receives the signals from the surrounding nerves and sends it to a computer through a wireless medium. Within several decades, active versions of these chips could provide a direct neural interface with prosthetic limbs, and by extension, a direct human-computer interface.
Human being artificially transformed into a machine by providing a proper interface between man and machine.
Experiments Proposed by cyborg Steve Mann:
As discussed earlier the chip in the implant will receive signals from the nerve fibers and send them to a computer instantaneously. For example, when we move a finger, an electronic
Signal travels from the brain to activate the muscles and tendons that operate the hand. These Nerve impulses will reach the finger. The implanted silicon chip receives these nerve pulses and it sends the signal of impulses to a computer through wireless path. The signal from the implant will be analog, so we'll have to convert it to digital in order to store it in the computer. The computer receives the signal and sends it back to the implant. This ensures whether the same response of moving the finger will be by sending same impulse signal to the implant. When we waggle the left index finger, it will send a corresponding signal via the implant to the computer; here it will be recorded and stored. Next, we can transmit this signal to the implant, hoping to generate an action similar to the original. No processing will be done inside the implant.
Rather, it will only send and receive signals, much like a telephone handset sends and receives sound waves. It's true that onboard power would increase the options for programming more complex tasks into the implant, but that would require a much larger device. In the similar way experiments are proposed to be conducted to provide vision to blind people. In this method a camera is made to have an interface with the implant.
This camera captures images and sends them to the silicon chip implant where the images are sent to the brain and processing takes place with this the image is seen by the blind person even without his eyes.[1]
CYBER SOLDIER:
Certainly, the military has already considered the possibility of the super-soldier, augmented by technology so that he has faster reflexes, deadlier accuracy, greater resistance to fatigue, integrated weaponry, and most importantly, lesser inclinations toward fear or doubt in combat. Such soldiers could be created through combinations of biochemical, bioelectronics, and DNA manipulation, which is already a great success. They might have available arsenals of new biological warfare components, synthetically generated within their own bodies.
Brain cells transformed of silicon tubes:
Neurons thread themselves through semiconductor tubes, opening up possibilities for interfacing these cells with computers.
Neurons, which make up the main part of our brain and nervous system, are composed of a main body and a long extension called an axon, which carries signals away from the body and towards other neurons. Through creating a very small tube from layers of silicone and germanium, neurons would push their axons through the tube, leaving the cell’s main body, which is too large for the small opening, outside of it. This opens up the possibility of creating engineered networks of cells, planned and organized through these tubes that can be studied through voltage sensors and other equipment. [2][3]
Negative consequences:
One is that the human race will divide along the lines of biological haves and have-nots. People with enough money will be able to augment their personal attributes as they see fit, while the majority of humanity will continue to suffer from plague, hunger. It's inevitable that there will be those who see the potential of a sort of master race from this technology. Certainly, the military has already considered the possibility of the super-soldier, augmented by technology so that he has faster reflexes, deadlier accuracy, greater resistance to fatigue, integrated weaponry, and most importantly, lesser inclinations toward fear or doubt in combat. Such soldiers could be created through combinations of biochemical, bioelectronics, and DNA manipulation, which is already a great success. They might have available arsenals of new biological warfare components, synthetically generated within their own bodies. But it's not clear that these 'cyborgs' would not turn on their creators. Indeed, there's no reason at all to think they would forever allow themselves to be controlled by inferiors. They could easily become a new sort of dominant caste, forcing the rest of non-technologized humanity into serfdom. Or perhaps they might decide simply to eliminate it.
For that reason, it's logical to suspect that one of the other dangers inherent in bioelectronics might be the ability to control and monitor people. Certainly, it would be easy to utilize bio-implants that would allow people to trace the location and perhaps even monitor the condition and behavior.
This would be a tremendous violation of human privacy, but the creators of human biotech might see it as necessary to keep their subjects under control. Once implanted with bio-implant electronic devices, 'cyborgs' might become highly dependent on the creators of these devices for their repair, recharge, and maintenance, thus placing them under the absolute control of the designers of the technology. In this way cyborgs may lead many adverse consequences.
Conclusion
Though cyber organism creation has many advantages it may lead to negative arguments. When human beings are offered the chance to utilize computers and electronic technologies within their bodies to achieve the same results, it is almost certain they will embrace them regardless of the risks. Based on this, it would be unrealistic to try and ban such technologies; however one might worry about their ethical and social consequences. Cyborg is only for benefit of the human race and the technology will be created for the betterment of future of mankind.
A cyborg, short for "cybernetic organism", is a being with both organic and cybernetic parts. See for example biomaterials and bioelectronics. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space.[1] D. S. Halacy's Cyborg: Evolution of the Superman in 1965 featured an introduction which spoke of a "new frontier" that was "not merely space, but more profoundly the relationship between 'inner space' to 'outer space' – a bridge...between mind and matter."[2]
The beginning of Cyborg creation began when HCI (human-computer interaction) began. There is a clear distinction between the human and computerized technology in HCI, which differs from cyborgs in that cyborgs act out human functions.
The term cyborg is often applied to an organism that has enhanced abilities due to technology,[3] though this perhaps oversimplifies the necessity of feedback for regulating the subsystem. The more strict definition of Cyborg is almost always considered as increasing or enhancing normal capabilities. While cyborgs are commonly thought of as mammals, they might also conceivably be any kind of organism and the term "Cybernetic organism" has been applied to networks, such as road systems, corporations and governments, which have been classed as such. The term can also apply to micro-organisms which are modified to perform at higher levels than their unmodified counterparts.
Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy. Fictional cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical (e.g. the Cybermen in the Doctor Who franchise or The Borg from Star Trek); or as almost indistinguishable from humans (e.g. the Terminators from the Terminator films, the "Human" Cylons from the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica etc.) The 1970s television series The Six Million Dollar Man featured one of the most famous fictional cyborgs, referred to as a bionic man; the series was based upon a novel by Martin Caidin entitled Cyborg. Cyborgs in fiction often play up a human contempt for over-dependence on technology, particularly when used for war, and when used in ways that seem to threaten free will. Cyborgs are also often portrayed with physical or mental abilities far exceeding a human counterpart (military forms may have inbuilt weapons, among other things).
References
[1] Crichton, M. (1990). Jurassic park. New York: Knopf.
[2] Dirksen.(1987).George Frederick Handel(ca.1738)
[3] geek-cetera,brain-cell-research-brings-us-closer-to-cyborg-future
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