Betreff: ABC Reports Prof. with Microchip Implanted Feels "closely connected with the computer" |
Von: "WantToKnow.info" |
Datum: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:04:33 -0800 |
An: "Undisclosed Recipients" |
See Me,
Feel Me…
As Warwick heads down the main hall, lights turn on. When he turns to
the right, an office door unbolts and opens. Each step is clocked and
recorded. The building knows who he is, where he is, and what he
expects to happen.
Warwick predicts chip implants will one day
replace time cards, criminal tracking devices, even credit cards.
Capable of carrying huge amounts of data, they
may, he says, one day be used to identify individuals by Social
Security numbers, blood type, even their banking information.
“There are possibilities on the financial side
but also for helping people with disabilities.” Warwick says public
buildings like airports, hospitals, and community centers could be made
“implant friendly” to help the physically handicapped with easier
access.
The next stage of the research, he says, will
be linking the chip to elements within the body with the ultimate hope
of finding a way for paraplegics to regain control of their limbs.
Warwick predicts within five years we may see
homes programmed to know their owners. Smart sensors could trigger
automation systems, turning on lights and heaters, switching on ovens,
anything from recording television programs to chilling the wine. Cars
could be designed to operate without keys and only start up with
authorized users.
Some Pain,
Ethical Questions
Warwick was warned by his doctor that the experiment could be risky. No
one knows yet how the body will respond to this type of invasion. He
was told the chip could blow up in his arm, or break up and begin
floating around his body. But in the initial test, Warwick says
happily, he only suffered the discomforts of soreness and bruising.
Warwick is not blind to the ethical questions
of this technology. Implants ostensibly designed to clock workers in
and out might be misused to monitor where people are at all times and
who they are meeting. Governments could move to use implants instead of
I.D. cards and passports, but what would stop them from using this new
science to invade privacy?
The experiment already has had some unexpected
and disturbing results.
Asked if he felt he was part-man, part
machine, Warwick said, “What I actually feel is not as though the
machine is part of me or that I am part of the machine but we are
linked, we are connected by a physical link.”
Warwick says he was prepared to watch for the
physical changes during the experiment but not the mental changes.
I Feel
Strange, Now
“I feel mentally different. When I am in the building I feel much more
closely connected with the computer. I am not a separate thing. I am a
scientist, so that is strange for me, but that’s how I feel. It changed
what I feel like mentally which I hadn’t expected and which is very
strange and a bit scary.”
As scary —or liberating— as the new technology
may be, Professor Warwick has opened a door to the future. Cyborg
technology has arrived. It may be only a matter of time before we have
to ask ourselves if we are willing to join this new frontier.