From Human To Cyborg: Are You Willing To Augment Your Body?

What if you could have a heat-map vision to search through an abandoned terrain? What if you could filter out unpleasant odors of urban decay every now and then? Can you imagine hearing ultrasounds better than bats? And what about lifting 20 tons or having a third, bionic arm? With the rapid advancement of technologies, the future of healthcare might not just be about being healthy, but even augmenting our bodies and “upgrading” ourselves. Where would you draw the line between being a human and a cyborg? Superhuman traits in sight: perceiving colors as sounds The wish for a perfect human body with enhanced capabilities has been a dream for centuries culminating in the appearance of literary and cinematic superheroes in the collective mind. Who doesn’t want to see in the dark like Superman or lift 12-story-high buildings as Hulk does? Now, what if we tell you that a limited number of people already possesses unique capabilities due to technology? Take the example of Neil Harbisson, an artist born with achromatopsia or extreme colorblindness meaning he could only see in black-and-white. At first, he received his specialized electronic eye, his “eyeborg” to be able to render perceived colors as sounds on the musical scale. He is capable of experiencing colors beyond the scope of normal human perception: Amy Winehouse is red and pink, while ringtones are green. Harbisson is considered a cyborg, which according to the usual definition, combines organic and mech...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Biotechnology Cyborgization Health Sensors & Trackers artificial brain-computer interface digital tattoo exoskeleton future Healthcare implant Innovation Medicine Source Type: blogs