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A Cyborg Sense Of The World

Mar 17, 2017
by Caroline Miller
Adam Popescu, Cyborg Nest, cyborgs, Do-it-Yourself Transhumanism, Lyme disease, Michael Snyder, Moon Ribas, Neil Harbissan, When does a human become a robot?
8 Comments

Courtesy of google.com

By the time a person reaches their 80s, many will have had hip or knee replacement surgery and possibly a pacemaker inserted under their skin to moderate heart beats.  I often write about robots becoming more human with the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but the question might be asked in the reverse.  With technological advances to assist the blind, robotic limbs for amputees, and brain implants to control other physical malfunctions, how much replacement must occur before a human qualifies as a machine?

The question isn’t frivolous.   Neil Harbisson, 34, who lives in the U. K., is the world’s first legally recognized cyborg.  (“Do-It-Yourself Transhumanism,” by Adam Popescu, Bloomsberg Businessweek, Feb 20-March 5, 2017, pgs. 34-35.)  Harbisson, who is colorblind, lodged an antenna between his eyes and uses it to translate color into musical tones.  His partner, Moon Ribas, 31, has a Bluetooth implant in her left arm which she uses to  analyze seismic movements.  Because these devices allow Harbisson and Ribas  to sense the world in  new ways, they call themselves, not humans, but a transspecies.

To aid their research, the couple created a London startup, Cyborg Nest.  Their Chief Executive Officer, for example, has a compass chip implant, a device less obvious than Harbisson’s antenna, but with it, an individual can detect magnetic fields. Says one representative of Cyborg Nest, “If you’re alive today, you’re probably going to end up having at least one electronic attachment.” (Ibid pg. 35.)

Such devices don’t seem weird to Michael Snyder,  Stanford’s genetics department chairman.  He employs similar augmentations to detect  Lyme disease, colds and to asses diabetes risk.  He thinks of these chips as radar devices.  (Ibid pg. 35.) 

Already, Cyborg Nest is looking ahead.  On its drawing board is a Bluetooth dental implant for silent communications; a way to detect pollution; and something every parent will want: eyes for the back of the head.  The big challenge will be to teach the brain to process all these new sensations.

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8 Comments
  1. Christine March 17, 2017 at 7:38 am Reply
    Even as a parent, I'm not sure I'll ever really want to see where I've been or even all that's happening back there. Am learning in my old age that it is truly better to keep looking forward. Very fascinating blog and ideas especially for those of us enamored with The Million Dollar Man... Wonder how much he'd cost today?
    • Caroline Miller March 17, 2017 at 8:18 am Reply
      Yes, it did start, perhaps, with those million dollar babies. Or, we might go back to Frankenstein. Humans have always harbored a dream of self-perfection. But that perfection might become a bit frightening if we look too far down the road.
  2. John Briggs March 17, 2017 at 5:09 pm Reply
    I have discovered an app that enables anyone to become a cyborg instantly. It is part of us in all our waking hours, alerting us to invisible signals or alternations in the minute or the hour. It works when almost anything electronic that vibrates, thumps, buzzes, or bumps is put into it. It's a pocket.
    • Caroline Miller March 18, 2017 at 8:40 am Reply
      How true. An excellent augmentation of the human potential. Thank you for reminding us. :)
  3. Fia Rose March 17, 2017 at 7:56 pm Reply
    Fascinating stuff! I already felt like "the future" was here with Google Glass, but this was the first I'd heard of the Cyborg Nest :). Thanks for the info!
    • Caroline Miller March 18, 2017 at 8:41 am Reply
      Think I could use eyes in the back of my head. Nature's oversight.
  4. Fia Rose March 18, 2017 at 11:24 am Reply
    Haha! Love it! ;)
    • Caroline Miller March 18, 2017 at 11:42 am Reply
      I understand and appreciate your funny bone.

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Contact Caroline at

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Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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