I Am Cyborg
Source: Popular Science
By implanting a computer chip into his arm, one man
hopes to establish the most direct link yet between man and machine.
Kevin Warwick is going to have a chip on his shoulder.
Or rather, a chip in his arm. Next year, he'll undergo an operation to
insert a computer-controlled transponder in his body. Warwick, a
professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading in England,
hopes that by becoming part man and part machine he'll usher in the
next information revolution: the era of human-computer communication.
Although today's computers can consume and spit out
megabytes of information in seconds, it takes us hours, days, or even
months to enter data into a PC. With only crude tools like keyboards,
mice, and voice recognition software
available to us, our communication with computers is agonizingly slow
and awkward. Warwick, author of In the Mind of the Machine (1998),
hopes to change all of that. In early 2001, the 45-year-old professor
will have a surgeon insert a computer-controlled transmitter/receiver
into his upper arm. A collar connector will be attached to the device
and surround the nerves in his arm. Once the implant operation is
completed, the tiny computing device will start transmitting
information about Warwick's every
bodily movement and impulse.
"It will pick up signals from my nervous system and
transmit them out to the computer," explains Warwick. Such
human-to-computer communications will be a first, and it could have
tremendous potential in medicine. Chip implants could easily monitor a
patient's heart rate, keep tabs on a diabetic's
insulin level, or continually monitor a host of other vital signs. But
Warwick has his eyes focused further into the future.
"We're looking at movement, of course," Warwick
explains, hinting at a whole new area of human and computer
interaction. People with microprocessor implants in their bodies
could, he suggests, control computers without a keyboard or mouse by
merely waving their arms or wiggling a finger. And, by
applying this same principle to other machines, we could eliminate
countless other outmoded ways of communicating with machines. "It
should allow us, eventually," says Warwick, "to drive a car without a
steering wheel or gears."
Of course, it takes two to communicate, so the second
half of Warwick's experiment will involve computer-to-human
transmissions. Once the cybernetics department's computer has finished
storing every tiny electrical impulse Warwick's arm emits, it will
begin trying to assimilate that information - and then send it back to
the implant in Warwick's arm. In what
could turn out to be a computer-controlled version of a game of Simon
Says, the computer may even make Warwick wave or tap his fingers.
"What's going to happen brain-wise, we're not so
sure,"Warwick admits."Will my brain think that strange things are
happening, or will it simply be content with what is going on?"
A glass vial containing several microprocessors was
inserted into cybernetics pioneer Kevin Warwick's arm in 1998. He's
planning to do it again.
Whatever happens, Warwick hopes this will just be the
first step toward a cybernetic future where computer chips embedded in
our bodies not only help paraplegics walk but also enable us to
seamlessly communicate with computers "The feedback part is
critical,"he explains,"that's part of the reason I'm
being the guinea pig. Unless you have someone that you can ask how
they are feeling and what signals they're getting, you won't get to
the next step."Becoming a temporary cyborg does have its dangers,
however."Sending signals back and forth is a bit of hassle,"admits
Warwick,"because we don't want to pick up stray signals or turn me
into a walking radio station."Fortunately, Warwick already knows a
little of what it's like to join the Borg, the machine-enhanced beings
made famous by Star Trek.
Almost two years ago, on August 24, 1998, Warwick became
the first cybernaut. In a 20-minute operation using a local
anesthetic, Dr. George Boulos inserted a transponder between the skin
and muscle of Warwick's upper left arm. Like the fictional implants in
The Matrix, Warwick's first computer implant was a small glass vial
about an inch long and a tenth of
inch wide that contained several microprocessors and an
electromagnetic coil. Although Warwick claims the subcutaneous device
didn't cause undue discomfort, he did take antibiotics to prevent
infection and had the device removed after nine days."I didn't want it
to heal over,"he says,"because then it would have been much more
difficult to remove."
The point of Warwick's initial foray into cybernetics
was to demonstrate the advantages of intelligent buildings. For more
than 20 years, the professor has been researching and developing
computer-controlled buildings that can
recognize people when they approach, automatically adjust heating
conditions, and even greet visitors.
With his electronic tag, the computer-controlled
elements of the department of cybernetics offices were able to
recognize the professor as he moved from place to place. So for more
than a week, Warwick became what was in effect a walking Clapper,
turning on lights and opening doors automatically wherever he went.
His computer even crooned "Good morning, Professor Warwick," and told
him when he had new e-mail messages.
Aside from the convenience - or annoyance - of enabling
your assistant to always find you, such rudimentary cybernetic
implants have enormous potential benefits. Convicted felons could be
monitored or prevented from entering certain buildings, such as
schools. And you would never lock yourself out of your car, because it
would always be able to recognize you.
If all this sounds farfetched, consider that Palm Beach,
Florida-based Applied Digital Solutions has already applied for a
patent for a tracking and identification device that can be implanted
under the skin. According to the company, a prototype of the device
should be finished by the end of this
year. When it is, ADS expects to be able to employ its Digital Angel
implants as personal tracking and recovery systems using the GPS
navigation system. And there's already interest from law enforcement
and security firms.
Warwick admits that raising the specter of Big Brother
was one of the goals of his first experiment. Most of us are likely to
be a little uncomfortable with the idea that elevators could recognize
us or that employers could know how many times you went to the
bathroom and which stall you used. But the professor believes the
benefits will outweigh the disadvantages.
"The computer should be able to recognize more than
movement," he explains,"it could also recognize emotional signals,
like anger, shock, and also pain. Of course, at first it won't know
it's anger, but the potential is there to learn it. Eventually, we may
get robots to learn 'this is anger'
and 'this is pain.'" As Warwick envisions it, a computer that
understands human emotions could be of value in resolving conflicts,
making humans feel better, and even replacing some conventional drugs.
It doesn't stop there, either. The professor is already
thinking about trying out more silicon implants.
"There's the possibility of feeding other information
into our bodies," he maintains."The robots in our lab, for example,
sense the world in terms of ultrasonics, so why not give that ability
to humans? I hope to try that next
by combining that information with my visual information and seeing if
I can visually tie in to it and give myself an extra sense, an
extrasensory perception for real."
By the end of the 21st century, Warwick thinks we all
may be tied in together. A world of interconnected cybernetically
enhanced humans would allow everyone to experience just about
anything. Internet service providers and cellphones with Web access
would be a distant memory. Our bodies and brains will be wirelessly
connected to the Web.
"We will simply be able to think to each other," he
predicts."We will have memories of events that we have not witnessed,
and mathematical abilities that far surpass anything today."
by John R. Quain
http://www.popularscience.com/computers/features/cyborg/index.html