If there is anyone who fits the stereotype of the crazy scientist, it is probably Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading. He will, for example, tell anyone within hearing range that he wants to become a Cyborg.
And he will put his money (or put more succinctly, his life) where his mouth is: By 2002 he had already implanted computer chips in his nervous system. Not only could he now move a robotic arm with his implant, but also feel artificial sensations from a similar electrode inserted into his wife. Somehow sexual intercourse just wasn’t enough.
His no holds barred, pyrotechnic approach to scientific research has earned him a lot of appearances on the discovery channel and the disdain of some of his fellow scientists.
But think of mr Warwick what you may, you cannot help but be intrigued by his experiments.
Apparently bored by something as mundane as implanting electrodes into his body, mr Warwick is now growing neurons in Petri dishes and attaching them to robotic devices. His rat-neuron-petri-dish-brain successfully controls a simple wheeled robot.
And guess what animal will provide the brain cells for his next artificial brain?
I’ll give you a hint, it’s a biped.
The Cyborg
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Hype Cycle
Remember the bursting of the internet bubble at the turn of the century? It was the perfect moment for technophobes. All the promise held by technology seemed to go up in smoke:
Suddenly, the talking heads had always known it: E-commerce was a farce, the only way to make money online was with porn, and e-mail was the only real application the net had to offer.
Sounds ludicrous now, but in fact it seems that these moments of disillusionment are normal. A lot like the last spasm of the luddites.
When a new technology emerges, we tend to get so intoxicated by the far horizons it opens up, that we overlook important technical details and overstate its possibilities in the short term. When our expectations are not met, we inevitably get disillusioned with our new toy.
But then the real applications of the new technology start getting hold and becoming economically viable. Before you know it, we can’t imagine how we survived without it.
This is a description of the Hype Cycle, a concept launched by the consultancy Gartner, inc., to describe the adoption by society of technological innovations. An important concept to remember, both when the enthusiasts predict the coming technological rapture and when the pessimists condemn humanity to life as usual.
The Cyborg
P.S. From Gartners' updated chart for 2009 its seems that twitters bubble is about to burst.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Touching Consciousness
The more religious inclined will surely disagree, but let’s postulate a scientific axiom: If it cannot be observed, it cannot be.
For centuries this was the trouble with one of the most puzzling of phenomena: consciousness. We could not define it, we could not determine its manifestations, and yet, if we were to deny its existence our sense of self would come crashing down.
To put it another way: without consciousness we couldn’t consciously deny consciousness.
Notice the past tense in the second paragraph? It’s there because neuroscientist Giulio Tononi of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has done something remarkable: he has advanced a working theory of consciousness. Falsifiable and observable.
Tononi calls it the Integrated Information Theory (ITT) and it basically states that consciousness in any system is a function of two properties:
- The amount of differentiated information in that system.
- The level of integration of this information through causal connections.
If his theory holds (far from sure at this point) it means that consciousness can emerge in any system complex and interconnected enough. So be careful how you treat your robot vaccuum cleaner!
You can read a more in depth article here.
The Cyborg
For centuries this was the trouble with one of the most puzzling of phenomena: consciousness. We could not define it, we could not determine its manifestations, and yet, if we were to deny its existence our sense of self would come crashing down.
To put it another way: without consciousness we couldn’t consciously deny consciousness.
Notice the past tense in the second paragraph? It’s there because neuroscientist Giulio Tononi of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has done something remarkable: he has advanced a working theory of consciousness. Falsifiable and observable.
Tononi calls it the Integrated Information Theory (ITT) and it basically states that consciousness in any system is a function of two properties:
- The amount of differentiated information in that system.
- The level of integration of this information through causal connections.
If his theory holds (far from sure at this point) it means that consciousness can emerge in any system complex and interconnected enough. So be careful how you treat your robot vaccuum cleaner!
You can read a more in depth article here.
The Cyborg
Thursday, August 6, 2009
One step closer to the Holodeck
For those of you who aren’t trekkies, the Holodeck is a full immersion, virtual reality platform that allowed the crew of the starship Enterprise to live out every little fantasy that popped into their g-rated, fictional minds.
Think this is the mental delirium of some nerdy screenwriters? Think again.
Check out this mind-bending video demonstration of a touchable hologram:
Take a bow for sensei Hiroyuki Shinoda and his team of researchers at the University of Tokyo.
The Cyborg
Think this is the mental delirium of some nerdy screenwriters? Think again.
Check out this mind-bending video demonstration of a touchable hologram:
Take a bow for sensei Hiroyuki Shinoda and his team of researchers at the University of Tokyo.
The Cyborg
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Singularity is Near - Book Review
The very first cyborg book review is out. In The Singularity is Near Ray Kurzweil envisions a radically different future for mankind. The man who predicted the rise of the internet, now claims machines will surpass us intelectually in the coming generation. Let's hope they don't have Austrian accents and keep asking for Sarah Connor. Read the full book review.
Comments on the book review can be left here.
Comments on the book review can be left here.
Gadget Suggestions
Post your suggestions here as comments. One rule, the gadgets must promise to change our lives is some way or another. I’ll let you be the judge of what that means. The best suggestions will earn a spot on the main site. One hint, the newest Rolex will not get you anywhere (unless it allows you to teletransport)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Renaissance 2.0
Where did Galileo go for advice? Where did he find inspiration when he wanted to make sense of those odd orbital trajectories? In the 16th century there were precious little giants on which shoulders he could stand and most of them were dead and buried. Also, I’m pretty sure the library of the University of Padua didn’t have an internet connection.
Yet by meticulous observation and cold reasoning the Italian astronomer and mathematician forever changed the worldview of all humanity and infuriated a bunch of fundamentalists as an added bonus. This is what one dedicated man can do through careful application of the scientific method.
Now imagine hundreds, thousands, no millions of Galileis living at the same time, exchanging and debating ideas, attacking different problems through similar methods and vice versa, cross-pollinating, inspiring, competing, cooperating. The power of reason multiplied is an awesome power indeed.
This is the world we live in, right now!
Just consider the field of neuroscience. Today, tens of thousands of researches all over the world are following hundreds of different paths to that ultimate goal, understanding the workings of the human brain. They are scanning the contents of our skulls with ever more sophisticated instruments, they are growing neurons in petri dishes, they are interfacing animal brains with robots, they are building computer models of specific brain regions, etc, etc. When one road leads to a dead end, another forces a breakthrough. The gathered momentum is overwhelming, unstoppable.
Galileo, Da Vinci and a couple of odd scientists and artists spread throughout medieval Europe, delivered us from the dark ages. Our own Renaissance promises to be much more profound.
The Cyborg
Yet by meticulous observation and cold reasoning the Italian astronomer and mathematician forever changed the worldview of all humanity and infuriated a bunch of fundamentalists as an added bonus. This is what one dedicated man can do through careful application of the scientific method.
Now imagine hundreds, thousands, no millions of Galileis living at the same time, exchanging and debating ideas, attacking different problems through similar methods and vice versa, cross-pollinating, inspiring, competing, cooperating. The power of reason multiplied is an awesome power indeed.
This is the world we live in, right now!
Just consider the field of neuroscience. Today, tens of thousands of researches all over the world are following hundreds of different paths to that ultimate goal, understanding the workings of the human brain. They are scanning the contents of our skulls with ever more sophisticated instruments, they are growing neurons in petri dishes, they are interfacing animal brains with robots, they are building computer models of specific brain regions, etc, etc. When one road leads to a dead end, another forces a breakthrough. The gathered momentum is overwhelming, unstoppable.
Galileo, Da Vinci and a couple of odd scientists and artists spread throughout medieval Europe, delivered us from the dark ages. Our own Renaissance promises to be much more profound.
The Cyborg
Thursday, July 16, 2009
"Maybe you can drive my car"
Ever wished you had a personal chauffeur?
Here’s an idea: take a moth, cut of its head and wire it to your car’s steering mechanics.
In sum this is exactly what Japanese scientist Ryohei Kanzaki has accomplished, demonstrating the enormous leaps we’re taking in applied neuroscience these days.
Just make sure your designated driver doesn’t head obsessively towards the pretty white light.
The Cyborg
Here’s an idea: take a moth, cut of its head and wire it to your car’s steering mechanics.
In sum this is exactly what Japanese scientist Ryohei Kanzaki has accomplished, demonstrating the enormous leaps we’re taking in applied neuroscience these days.
Just make sure your designated driver doesn’t head obsessively towards the pretty white light.
The Cyborg
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Invasion of the bodyhackers
As we discover new ways to plug into our brains and bodies, we’re going to have to come to terms with a new kind of criminal. In an article in Wired, computer security expert Tadayoshi Kohno, claims that if we don’t start thinking about the dangers, our increasingly complex neural devices will be vulnerable for attack by mindjackers, bodyhackers and all kinds of neuropirates (the neologisms are my doing). You wouldn’t want to lose control over that prosthetic arm, would you?
Think this is far fetched, some organisms already pull off this villainous trick in nature. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii tricks its host, an infected rodent, to be strongly attracted to cat urine. Why? So the parasite can complete its lifecycle in the feline's stomach.
Hey, maybe those voices in your head are real after all.
The Cyborg
Think this is far fetched, some organisms already pull off this villainous trick in nature. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii tricks its host, an infected rodent, to be strongly attracted to cat urine. Why? So the parasite can complete its lifecycle in the feline's stomach.
Hey, maybe those voices in your head are real after all.
The Cyborg
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A Brainy Matter
The last bastion of human superiority, the biological brain, is quickly being encircled by technology and science. Its workings no longer baffle us and as Steven Pinker put it in his must-read book ‘How the Mind Works’, what was once a mystery is now a research problem.
Here are two articles that announce the end of an era:
The first offers a profound insight into the intricate workings of our synapses.
The second paves the way for subtle and precise communications between machines and the human brain.
For millions of years, the contents of our skulls represented the most sophisticated intellectual device around. Time to prepare a farewell party.
The Cyborg
Here are two articles that announce the end of an era:
The first offers a profound insight into the intricate workings of our synapses.
The second paves the way for subtle and precise communications between machines and the human brain.
For millions of years, the contents of our skulls represented the most sophisticated intellectual device around. Time to prepare a farewell party.
The Cyborg
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Give us a hand
The ways in which we can interface with machines and computers is rapidly expanding. Case in hand (no pun intended): AnthroTronix just released its first commercial version of the AcceleGlove, an affordable, programmable glove that records hand and finger movements. The outgoing data can be manipulated (open source) for any imaginable use: gaming, rehabilitation, training, 3d virtual environments, you name it.
Our most defining body part just went virtual.
The Cyborg
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Robot See, Robot Do
European scientists have developed a robot that mimics the way humans process visual information. Two cameras mounted on its head, feed images that are processed by algorithms inspired on models of the human brain. The result is that the robot moves as a human.
What is so interesting about this research is its interdisciplinary approach, mixing computer science and artificial intelligence with neuroscience. The crosspollination of these scientific fields will expand our horizons to almost unimaginable distances.
What will we see with our robot eyes?
The Cyborg
What is so interesting about this research is its interdisciplinary approach, mixing computer science and artificial intelligence with neuroscience. The crosspollination of these scientific fields will expand our horizons to almost unimaginable distances.
What will we see with our robot eyes?
The Cyborg
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Defining body
What is the body? Let me rehearse an answer: the body is the instrument through which the mind interacts with the environment. If the brain controls it, it is part of the body.
Off course, if this definition holds any truth, any tool you wielded would be (albeit temporarily) a body part. The pen you’re holding, the iPhone you’re using, the surfboard you’re riding, yes, even the toilet you’re flushing.
And before you object, read this article in the newscientist.com
The Cyborg
Off course, if this definition holds any truth, any tool you wielded would be (albeit temporarily) a body part. The pen you’re holding, the iPhone you’re using, the surfboard you’re riding, yes, even the toilet you’re flushing.
And before you object, read this article in the newscientist.com
The Cyborg
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Power of Thought
This week’s tech news was off course Honda’s demonstration of its mind controlled robot. A man with a helmet imagining crude movements and the robot ASIMO executing them, not yet flawlessly so it seems, but close enough for this to represent a veritable technological breakthrough.
It has been a couple of years since the scientist Miguel Nicolelis astonished this blogger with his experiments in brain-machine-interfaces. Mr Nicolelis implanted electrodes in to an owl monkey’s brain, interpreted and digitalized the outgoing signals and lo and behold, the monkey learned to move a mechanic arm with his thoughts alone.
No longer was the monkey bound to his biological body. The implications of such a discovery are truly transformational.
What the Japanese have accomplished is so astounding, because it promises the same power Nicolelis gave his owl monkeys without the inconvenience of having a bunch of wires protruding from your skull.
What times we live in.
The Cyborg
It has been a couple of years since the scientist Miguel Nicolelis astonished this blogger with his experiments in brain-machine-interfaces. Mr Nicolelis implanted electrodes in to an owl monkey’s brain, interpreted and digitalized the outgoing signals and lo and behold, the monkey learned to move a mechanic arm with his thoughts alone.
No longer was the monkey bound to his biological body. The implications of such a discovery are truly transformational.
What the Japanese have accomplished is so astounding, because it promises the same power Nicolelis gave his owl monkeys without the inconvenience of having a bunch of wires protruding from your skull.
What times we live in.
The Cyborg
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Power Plastic
Check the article about a new product that will change the way we use solar energy. Just go to my gadget watch page.
The Cyborg.
P.S. Do you want to tell about a technological innovation that is going to change our lives? Leave a comment.
The Cyborg.
P.S. Do you want to tell about a technological innovation that is going to change our lives? Leave a comment.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Aha-moment
We live in the most exiting of times. The current and mind boggling developments in science and technology will transform us and the world around us so profoundly, that we cannot yet hope to imagine the end result.
This realization, the realization of profound and inevitable change, first came to me in 2002 when I was discussing technological innovations with a friend. I remember telling him that we were not far away from creating cyborgs by integrating engineered machines and computers to our own bodies. Incredously, he asked me to put a timeframe to my prediction.
So we googled “cyborg” right then and there and to our astonishment we realised that we were discussing something that had already happened. My mind raced as we read about professor Kevin Warwick of the university of Reading, who by 2002 had already integrated a computer chip to his nervous system. The cyborgs were already among us.
That was my aha-moment. The instant I saw we were in a whirlwind of change. Off course I had always perceived the power of technology to change us, but only now did I realize the scope and the pace of these developments in our lifetime.
Since you are on such a niched website, chances are you also had your aha-moment. if not, you will have it very soon. Take my word for it.
In the 21st century Human kind has entered its pupa stage. There is no stopping the metamorphosis. The only question is: Will we emerge a peaceful butterfly or a voracious dragonfly?
The Cyborg
P.S. Tell me about your Aha-moment, leave a comment
This realization, the realization of profound and inevitable change, first came to me in 2002 when I was discussing technological innovations with a friend. I remember telling him that we were not far away from creating cyborgs by integrating engineered machines and computers to our own bodies. Incredously, he asked me to put a timeframe to my prediction.
So we googled “cyborg” right then and there and to our astonishment we realised that we were discussing something that had already happened. My mind raced as we read about professor Kevin Warwick of the university of Reading, who by 2002 had already integrated a computer chip to his nervous system. The cyborgs were already among us.
That was my aha-moment. The instant I saw we were in a whirlwind of change. Off course I had always perceived the power of technology to change us, but only now did I realize the scope and the pace of these developments in our lifetime.
Since you are on such a niched website, chances are you also had your aha-moment. if not, you will have it very soon. Take my word for it.
In the 21st century Human kind has entered its pupa stage. There is no stopping the metamorphosis. The only question is: Will we emerge a peaceful butterfly or a voracious dragonfly?
The Cyborg
P.S. Tell me about your Aha-moment, leave a comment
Starting Up
The last couple of days were spent setting up the website. I’m happy with the look, now we can start filling the pages with technological dreams of the future.
The Cyborg
Ps. Send your comments or suggestions to cyborgbooks [at] gmail.com
The Cyborg
Ps. Send your comments or suggestions to cyborgbooks [at] gmail.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009
First post
This Blog is inspired by the accelerating technological revolution that is drastically changing us and the world around us. In the coming decade, a score of scientific fields are poised to make a quantum leap. Just think of Robotics, Genetics, Nanotechnology, Cybernetics and Neuroscience. The convergence of these multiple technological breakthroughs will have such profound consequences that we can scarcely look beyond them. Its what Raymond Kurzweil calls the technological singularity.
How will we emerge on the other side? This site will help you find an answer. Periodically we will review a book that can shed light on a field o science or provoke us to think about our future. Also we will provide links to videos, articles, blogs or any other site of interest. We welcome contributions or suggestions, just leave a comment.
How will we emerge on the other side? This site will help you find an answer. Periodically we will review a book that can shed light on a field o science or provoke us to think about our future. Also we will provide links to videos, articles, blogs or any other site of interest. We welcome contributions or suggestions, just leave a comment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)