CYBORG: A STEP TOWARDS HUMAN EVOLUTION

AN CYBORG

In the last few decades, there is skyrocketing growth in technology. Introduction of the silicon world has given us a lot. For example, AI has seen a huge amount of advancement in its field since the year 1990. These advancements lead to the discovery of prosthetic human body parts. In the future of human civilization, the implantation of the prosthetic human brain could improve our memory. Implanted magnets or radio-frequency Identification in our fingers could replace passwords and keys. Prosthetic eyes might increase our eye-sights multiple times and spectacles and contact lens might get obsolete. Artificial exoskeleton could boost our human strength and introduce a whole new range of human capabilities. So, it will never be important to keep normal human-like features. The words humanity, creativity, empathy, emotions will just remain as a word in the dictionary.

What is Cyborg? The term ‘Cyborg’ portmanteau “Cybernetic Organism”. People usually imagine cyborg means creatures combining some human and superhuman features in a robotic body. Movie and comic character such as Blade, Cyborg, Terminator and Darth Vader come to mind. We don’t have to go to outer space to some alien civilization to get in contact with cyborg-like features or characteristics. According to the usual definition, a ‘Cyborg’ is a human or animal that has been physically integrated with a computer and other mechanical components. It is a technology that tends to generate a number of legal and ethical questions. Some of the examples of the real-life cyborgs are Nigel Ackland, Cameron Clapp, Professor Steve Mann, Dr Kevin Warwick, etc.

History

The term ‘Cyborg’ was first coined by NASA scientists, Nathan Kline and Manfred Clynes in an aeronautics journal written in 1960 which discussed the potential advantages of a machine and human hybrid that could operate in outer space. The appearance of cyborgs was in books which were date back more than 150 years. The first true melding of man and machine was in Edgar Allan Poe’s 1843 short story, “The Man That Was Used Up”. The cyborgs became popular after the release of fictional characters like Marvel comics’ ‘Colossus’ and DC comics’ ‘Cyborg’. The history of real-life cyborgs is very much hazy to the experts and researchers. Though diagrams from the 1500s show some designs of prosthetic iron arms, the first introduction of technology into the human body was done in the early 20^th century. At the end of World War II, the NAS (National Academy of Sciences) began to advocate better research and development of prosthetics. Through government funding, a research and development program was developed within the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Veterans Administration. After the Second World War, a team at The University of California, Berkeley including James Foort and C.W. The first microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees became available in the early 1990s. In 2019, a project under AT2030 was launched in which bespoke sockets are made using a thermoplastic, rather than through a plaster cast. This is faster to do and significantly less expensive. The sockets were called Amparo Confidence sockets.

Application and Mushrooming of Cyborgs

Cameron Clapp

      I.          Medicine: In medicine, there are two important and different types of cyborgs: the restorative and the enhanced. Restorative technologies "restore lost function, organs, and limbs". On the contrary, the enhanced cyborg "follows a principle, and it is the principle of optimal performance: maximising output (the information or modifications obtained) and minimising input (the energy expended in the process)". Thus, the enhanced cyborg intends to exceed normal processes or even gain new functions that were not originally present.

   II.          Armed Force: Armed Force organizations' research has recently focused on the utilization of cyborg animals for the purposes of a supposed tactical advantage. DARPA has announced its interest in developing "cyborg insects" to transmit data from sensors implanted into the insect during the pupa stage.

 III.          Sports: Cybathlon 2016 were the first Olympics for cyborgs and the first worldwide and official celebration of cyborg sports. In this event, 16 teams of people with disabilities used technological developments to turn themselves into cyborg athletes. There were six different events and its competitors used and controlled advanced technologies such as powered prosthetic legs and arms, robotic exoskeletons, bikes and motorized wheelchairs.

 IV.          Art: Many artists like Neil Harbisson, Steve Mann, Stelarc, etc have tried to create public awareness of cyborg; these can range from paintings to installations. Some work to make an abstract idea of technological and human-bodily union apparent to reality in an art form utilizing varying mediums, from sculptures and drawings to digital renderings.

    V.          Space: Sending humans to space is a dangerous task in which the implementation of various cyborg technologies could be used in the future for risk mitigation. The difficulties associated with space travel could mean it might be centuries before humans ever become a multi-planet species.

 VI.          Cognitive Science: Theorists such as Andy Clark suggest that interactions between humans and technology result in the creation of a cyborg system. In this model "cyborg" is defined as a part biological, a part mechanical system which results in the augmentation of the biological component and the creation of a more complex whole.

Human Enhancement and Controversies

In addition to restorative technologies, cyborg application which may enhance human functioning beyond the body’s natural capabilities is controversial because it is likely to lead to a competitive race condition that results in humans becoming increasingly robotic. For example, the development of the Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, which is on the verge of becoming a prolific cyborg application. Opponents of such a technology point to the potential invasion of privacy that might occur with such a device; it could become an effective application for the purposes of tracking humans and animals.

Another controversial cyborg application involves the utilization of insects and animals in the military for tactical combat purposes. For example, the United States Department of Defence agency, Defence Advanced Research Projects (DARPA), has begun to explore the possibility of implanting insects with pupal data sensors for surveillance purposes, as well as implanting sharks with similar cyborg sensors to detect explosives underwater.

Neil Harbisson

Existential Risk

Physically changing humans to be integrated with machines for the purposes of enhancement represents an existential risk to humans whereby we are driven by competition to become completely robotic with time. Some of the challenging risks are:

Ø  Social upheaval due to a divide between cyborgs and non-cyborgs.

Ø  The likelihood that people will feel that they have to submit to cyborg technology in order to compete at school or in the workforce.

Ø  The potential for humans to become increasingly robotic until humanity no longer exists.

The Future

A Future Cyborg

The future of cyborgs is full of exciting possibilities, with the potential to restore and even enhance human bodily functions. But like any new technology, we also need to be aware of the ethical implications and consider how it should be used responsibly. Although we probably won’t have to worry about cyborg assassins like the Terminator any time soon, most researchers agree that it’s important to develop sound ethical guidelines for the use of bionics. Nevertheless, cyborg technology has the potential to transform lives and make us rethink what it means to be human. Who knows – maybe at some stage in your life you’ll become a cyborg too!

 

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