The bio-electronic man: bionics

When we scan a human brain we can see electronic signals forming patterns, giving us a picture of the brain activity. The body is a low-energy electrical system.

We can now find blind people with vision via electronics, curing diseases electronically, regulating body functions by means of circuits, switching off neurological disorders, circuits as being part of your bodys systems – we can do it today and serious work is progressing. We use implanted electronic devices that stimulate nerve or muscular tissue to operate limbs or fix nerve pathways. Heart peacemakers, hearing improvement by cochlear implants are well known.

The evolution of bionics via robotic arms and legs, bionic leg braces that can help arthritis patients, electronic eyes and more goes on. We are becoming machine assisted or neuro-bionic creatures.

Biology, electronics and output devices make bionics.

We have the bionic eye with camera, lenses, microchips connected to the retina and the optic nerve – a few signals now, later thousands. Fairly good vision will be possible.

Technology is being prototyped, and also neurological and psychiatric disorders are being considered.

Neurobionics goes right into the brain function controlling neural activity by delivering correctional electronic stimulation. Examples are epilepsy controlled by implant, electronic correction of neurological  disorders like schizofrenia or obsessive disorder.

There are also other aspects: Building interface for brain and computer, controlling computers with our microchipped brains, healing memory loss.

There are heavy ethical aspects to this, about what we can do to a perfectly healthy person, like enhancing ordinary thinking, focus your mind, stimulate parts of the brain that we don’t normally use, even increase intelligence.

The are also politics and commercial interests.

The ultimate question is: when the great chip is ready  and it can be used to control human behaviour, then should this be allowed to happen? Are there people out there evil enough to let this happen? Or is it enough to let development go on in full transparency?

The discussion about this should be kept open. Technology is often fine, but the possibility of misuse is always there. Strong ethics will, however, save the day.

Remember also that one day we will be able to scan the brain , interpret the signals so that we can se people’s thoughts. You may also be able to think up a document and transfer it via your thoughts to  a machine, have the machine give you messages via wireless signals, search the net via thinking, interacting with the mass of information that is building up in the cloud. It would be impossible to lie, unless you learn how to lock up your thoughts!

Scary yes, but definitely coming to us, gradually. Useful also, but beware!

Del på FaceBookDel på Nettby Post til Twitter

Leave a Reply