Chip implant signals a new kind of man

[boblandis]

Deborah Smith

Saturday 16 February 2002

The world's first cyborg, a machine-enhanced man, could be walking within weeks.

A British professor of cybernetics, Kevin Warwick, plans to have a chip implanted in his arm that will transmit signals from his nervous system to a computer. By relaying the signals back to his nerves, he hopes to see whether the same movements, sensations or even emotions can be evoked.

The Reading University professor first had a chip implanted in 1998 that communicated with a network of antennas in his laboratory, so, for example, the door opened as he approached.

His latest plan was aimed at provoking debate about the risks and benefits of computer-enhancement of healthy humans. A more practical aim of the research is to help disabled people.

The Bionic Age, where machines help restore lost movement in missing or damaged limbs, or substitute for failing organs, is almost upon us, according to a review of the latest technology published in the journal Science.

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The spare parts side is well advanced. NASA, for example, has developed a robotic hand that is almost as dexterous as our own.

Systems that rely on the power of thought to move artificial limbs have already been developed. Their potential was recently demonstrated by a monkey in Brooklyn, New York, whose brain signals were used to control a robotic arm located in North Carolina.

"Cognitive control of artificial limbs, at least for primitive but important motions such as grasping, thus can be achieved with a bionic brain-machine interface," says biomedical engineer at Rutgers University in New Jersey, William Craelius.

Another promising new device is a Bion, which is injected deep into a muscle and, given the appropriate radio commands, can control muscles.

However, more than 1000 connections between the brain and a bionic device would be needed to communicate the data necessary to produce a complex action like walking. Professor Craelius predicts this will soon be achievable, even if most of the computer processing is done outside the person's body at first.

[kiwi]

Are you just wanting comments here?  Sometimes just posting articles leaves me with the question of "what do I do with it?"...

I think anyone who has lost a limb or who have been paralyzed from stroke, nerve damage has a ray of hope.  I think God allows humans to discover things all the time.  I see this as a positive!

[boblandis]

I see it as both. Moral people will use it for good and evil people will use it for destruction.

[kiwi]

Bob,

You are exactly right!!  Unfortunately, sometimes there seems to be WAY more evil out there than good!  <sigh>

[Samson]

bob did you hear about the man that became peralized and couldn't even move his head ? well the doctor implanted a chip/glass covered endings and then attachedd the chip to a mouse cursor that was then linked to a screen with letters.

after months the nerve started to grow in to the glass cassing form the tiny eltroimpulse given by the computer.

He started being able to spell out words by the power of his brian to move the cursor ! what chat think about them apples ?

I think that all the biomedical is over the limit ????

its like birth control ! We think its wrong . right ?

but what about birth stimulant? that could be helping God out ? and that is just the same ?

I think things happen to people to to implant micro chips into your body then thats  crossing the line !!!!

[Lanakila]

Most evangelical Christians don't believe all birth control is wrong, Samson. The ones that kill the unborn child such as the IUD or even plain abortion we would say is morally wrong. Birth control that isn't harming the unborn child I would say is up to the individual couple on that. Catholics are opposed to all birth control except for rythym method as a group, although many Catholics still continue to use birth control of all different types. Anyhow, I just wanted to go on record that all Christians don't believe that birth control is wrong.