Future
people
Words
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Sarah Warwick Photos
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David Vintiner
Transhumanistsandbiohackersuse the latest technologies
toenhance theirbodiesandminds.Are theyplayingwithfire
byplayinggod,or just 10yearsaheadof therestofus?
Amazingly, it seems theremayevenbeamarket
for thisunusualbusiness.Harbisson is justoneof a
growingnumberofpeoplewhoareexperimenting
withusing futuristic technologies toenhance their
mindsandbodies.
Knownas“grinding”orbiohacking, the trend for
thiskindof experimentationdatesback to the 1990s,
whenUKprofessorDrKevinWarwicksurgically
insertedacomputerchip intohisarm. In2002,he
became theworld’sfirst cyborg, afterhavingpartof
a roboticarmembedded inhis.
Since then themovementhasgrownand
expanded.Would-behackerscannowbuyDIY
implantsonline, includingcomputerchips thatallow
them toopendoorswith just theirhands.Others
usechemical eyedrops that enablenightvision;
»
I
t sounds like theplot of a sci-fifilm.
Manwants tobecomecyborg.Man
paysdoctor to fuseanantenna toa
bone inhis skull.Mandiscovershe
canperceivecolours that are
invisible tootherpeople.Manconnectshishead
to the internet, andeven receives colours from
outer space.
If thiswasamovie, something terriblewould
probablyhappenat thispoint–analienattack,
perhaps, or somehorrendousdiseasecaused
bybrain radiation.But in fact,notonlyhasNeil
Harbisson, themanwho reallydidhaveanartificial
deviceattached tohisheadadecadeago,not
sufferedany ill effects,he’snowsetupacompany to
sell similaradd-ons toothers.
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