Cyborgs and Kevin Warwick

The word 'cyborg' is a combination of 'cybernetic' and 'organism' which means a human being whose physical functioning is aided in some capacity (or even entirely dependent upon) an electromechanical device. Many fictional cyborgs have appeared in movies and books - my favorite was always The Terminator, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. But are there any actual persons today who have become true cyborgs? Even if only temporarily? (Not counting those who use electromechanical devices due to physical necessity.)

Kevin Warwick is a professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading who has conducted significant experiments with cyborg technology. (Some of his critics have dubbed him 'Captain Cyborg.') His first experiment involved implanting a chip in his arm to send radio signals to computer-controlled devices in his university. He could open doors, manipulate lights, have a computer say 'Hello,' as well as adjust the temperature of a room, merely by being in close proximity to the objects. The "chip" Warwick had installed was a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, encased in glass inside his arm, which is an object people wear or put into different products to receive signals from an RFID transceiver. Warwick's "Project Cyborg 1.0" experiment was successful at determining the exact level of signal-strength that the chip could emit upon being installed in a human, and how well the implant could be tolerated by the body.

Warwick's next experiment, "Project Cyborg 2.0" involved sending signals directly from his nervous system to various objects, and even to other humans. He first used a chip to control a robotic arm, which could actually mimic the movements of his own arm. Then his wife joined in the experiment by having an electrode array implanted that interfaced with her own nervous system. Warwick's primary goal was for them to be able to send 'feelings' back and forth for comparison purposes, and to see if some type of telepathic communication could be achieved. Although the experiment was successful at sending signals, they apparently were not strong enough to be felt by the other person to any significant degree. One of the things Warwick worried about with Project Cyborg 2.0 was if any of the raw noise data that their nervous systems were receiving would be damaging enough to make them lose their minds.

Warwick has stated in articles that he wants to try other experiments in which he will try to determine if humans can enhance their main senses with computer chips. Could an implant allow us to see infrared light? for example. Also he would like to investigate the feelings and brain patterns of intoxicated persons to see if they can be uploaded to a computer and saved, then downloaded at a future time to re-experience the mind's previously "high" state. He has said he would also like to do further research into sending signals between two nervous systems; perhaps one person could move their leg and the signals sent from that person's nervous system would be detailed enough to cause a different person to move their leg in the exact same motion. He also plans to use the Internet to send various human feelings over long distances (even sexual arousal).

Professor Warwick has done extensive and worthwhile research into uncharted "cyborg" territory, and has more plans to go much further, even once stating in an interview: "There is no way I want to stay a mere human." But even if Warwick succeeds in increasing our natural senses to 10,000 times their normal level, even if he allows us to download intoxicating mental states from a computer, even if he invents new ways for people to communicate telepathically, to me he will never be as awesome as The Terminator.