Their Time is Coming!

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A cyborg future is coming. Man’s relationship with machine is merging. Machines are an extension of our own intelligence. Soon we all will wear some kinds of bio-sensors to tell us what is happening inside us. That’s the future.

A cyborg or a cybernetic organism is a being with both biological and mechanical parts. Generally, the term “cyborg” is used to refer to a human with bionic, or robotic, implants. The beginning of cyborg creation began when HCI (human-computer interaction) started. The term cyborg is often applied to an organism that has advanced abilities due to technology. While cyborgs are commonly considered as mammals, they might also be any kind of organism. There is a hypothesis saying that cyborg technology will build up a part of the future human evolution.

The use of prostheses or implants is not a new idea. Humans have been using implanted technical aids of various types in the past to compensate for defects caused by illnesses.

Today, it is essential that the system are closely related to the living organism. Ideally, the system itself should be capable of receiving and sending the appropriate signals for the movement and control directly from the central nervous system and especially the brain itself. For instance, in vision science, direct brain implants have been used to treat non-congenital blindness. The first system included cameras mounted on glasses to send signals to the implant.

Nowadays there are two main applications of cyborg systems: (1) animal cyborgs and (2) social cyborgs.

The world’s first commercially available cyborg was an animal cyborg ant it is called the RoboRoach. The RoboRoach was officially released into production via a TED talk at the TED Global conference. Other groups have developed cyborg insects, but the RoboRoach was the first kit available to the general public.

But, what is a social cyborg? More broadly, the term “cybernetic organism” is used to describe larger networks of communication and control. For instance, cities, networks of roads, networks of software, corporations, markets, governments, and so on. A corporation can be assumed as an artificial intelligence that makes use of replaceable human components to function.

As we can see, a cyborg time is undoubtedly coming. How will it look like? Well, we guess it would bring some advancements in our lives. The ethical question should be: “Will the humans stay humans after the cybernetic revolution?” We believe the future will show.