Cyborgs and Enhancement Technology

Abstract

As we move deeper into the twenty-first century there is a major trend to enhance the body with "cyborg technology". In fact, due to medical necessity, there are currently millions of people worldwide equipped with prosthetic devices to restore lost functions, and there is a growing DIY movement to self-enhance the body to create new senses or to enhance current senses to "beyond normal" levels of performance. From prosthetic limbs, artificial heart pacers and defibrillators, implants creating brain-computer interfaces, cochlear implants, retinal prosthesis, magnets as implants, exoskeletons, and a host of other enhancement technologies, the human body is becoming more mechanical and computational and thus less biological. This trend will continue to accelerate as the body becomes transformed into an information processing technology, which ultimately will challenge one's sense of identity and what it means to be human. This paper reviews "cyborg enhancement technologies", with an emphasis placed on technological enhancements to the brain and the creation of new senses-the benefits of which may allow information to be directly implanted into the brain, memories to be edited, wireless brain-to-brain (i.e., thought-to-thought) communication, and a broad range of sensory information to be explored and experienced. The paper concludes with musings on the future direction of cyborgs and the meaning and implications of becoming more cyborg and less human in an age of rapid advances in the design and use of computing technologies.Keywords: cyborg; enhancement technology; prosthesis; brain-computer interface; new senses; identity Cyborgs and ProsthesesThe human body is in the process of experiencing a rapid transformation from a completely biological entity created based on instructions provided by human DNA to a body becoming far more "computational and technological" [1]. While this paper focuses on the theme of "human" enhancement technology, we also review some computational enhancements to animal subjects because such studies provide examples of the future direction of enhancement technology and in some cases these very technologies will be implemented into the human body and likely within one or two decades. Generally, body-worn and implantable technology serves to identify cyborgs as a constellation within which the identities of the members of cyborg groups "negotiate" their individual significance. We describe "cyborg culture" or "cyborg being" as a particular way of life, or set of beliefs, which expresses certain meanings in the context of cyborg technologies; particularly in the case of many self-imposed cyborgs that "way of life" is to become transhuman [2,3]. Broderick describes a transhuman as a person who explores all available and future methods for self enhancement that eventually leads toward the radical change of posthuman-which is to ultimately become nearly unlimited in physical and psychological capability (i.e., to go beyond human) [4].Using a semiotic framework, cyborg enhancement tech...

Law, Cyborgs, and Technologically Enhanced Brains

“…We note that the chips implanted in one's mind, and the software associated with such technology, represents the state-of-the-art in the technology being developed to enhance the cognitive capabilities of a cyborg. As an example, consider the development of a neuroprosthesis, such as an artificial hippocampus which is being designed to restore and enhance one's memory (see generally [6,9,16]). A neuroprosthesis has strong potential to not only alleviate the damage to the brain from disease or injury, but to enhance the brain with superior abilities, such as to download information from the internet, to engage in thought-to-thought communication, and edit memories [1,9].…”

“…As an example, consider the development of a neuroprosthesis, such as an artificial hippocampus which is being designed to restore and enhance one's memory (see generally [6,9,16]). A neuroprosthesis has strong potential to not only alleviate the damage to the brain from disease or injury, but to enhance the brain with superior abilities, such as to download information from the internet, to engage in thought-to-thought communication, and edit memories [1,9]. When computer chips are integrated into a neuroprosthesis, in our view they become a component of the architecture of a "cyborg brain" (which represents the integration of human-machine parts) and thus assist the brain in performing information processing which contributes to the functions of a technologically enhanced mind.…”

“…Based on this observation, it is relevant to ask-if the technological ability to hack the mind is in the hands of governments and corporations, will the mind remain a bastion of privacy, safe from the preying eyes of technology? Further, if the government or a corporation can access our thoughts and edit the content of our minds, will the integrity of our mind remain under our individual control, and, if not, who then as a person are we [1,9]?…”

“…In comparison, this paper focuses more specifically on the machine technologies used to create "cyborgs" with a discussion of major legal issues associated with emerging combinations of human and machine. Additionally, the technology used to create cyborgs as discussed in this paper are reviewed in more detail by Kevin Warwick [8] and by Woodrow Barfield and Alexander Williams [9] as part of the special edition on Cyberphenemonology: Technominds Revolution published by this journal [10].…”

“…As stated previously by the authors, the term "cyborg technology" is used to refer to technology that is integrated into the human body which not only restores lost function, but enhances the anatomical, physiological, and information processing abilities of the body [1,9]. These include anything from medical implants, such as pacemakers, to near-future brain implants modifying memory and cognitive capability.…”