Cyborg (a cybernetic organism) is an organism that is supported by technical devices. This concept began to function outside the world of science fiction, becoming a reality. Currently, we are witnessing more and more cases of voluntary implantation of technology into the body by humans. The purpose of technology in the body is to improve the human body, increase its efficiency, but also help people. It is used to create prostheses that cooperate with the brain. The system detects brain waves, which are then used to control an external device such as an arm or leg. The technology implanted in the human body can also help people who have lost speech. The best known case of the use of implanted technology in the body is the story of Stephen Hawking, a British astrophysicist and physicist who suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), an incurable disease that leads to complete paralysis. Doctors did not give him a chance to survive more than 3 years. However, from the moment he found out about the disease, he survived 50 years. His connection with the world was provided by computer technology built into his wheelchair.
The story of Hawking inspired Peter Scott-Morgan, a mathematician and expert in robotics, who was also diagnosed with atrophic lateral sclerosis. Peter decided to become a cyborg in order to stay alive. Gradually he began to replace his non-functioning organs with artificial ones. He underwent a complicated procedure in which he introduced three tubes into his body: one that carries food to the stomach and two that drain urine and fasces from it. This was an unconventional procedure, requiring special permits from the British sanitary authorities. Scott-Morgan also worked with the sound laboratory so that he could continue to use his own voice after losing the ability to speak. They also took care to preserve his face by scanning it in three dimensions and building an avatar, displayed on a monitor attached to a wheelchair. Work on the development of technology to improve his standard of living is still underway.
There are more examples of the growing popularity of cyborgs. Rob Spence, who shot himself in the eye as a child, replaced his broken eye with an artificial one, calling himself the eyeborg. A camera was placed in his eyeball, which allowed him to record a document showing his life. The film can be seen by clicking on the link below:
However, the first government-recognized cyborg was Neil Harbisson in 2013. He is the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull. He suffers from a disease called achromatopsy, which allows him to see the world only in black and white. Thanks to the antenna, which transmits vibrations through the skull bones directly to the inner ear, he can hear colors, in a different way than sounds. Neil Harbisson is a co-founder of the Cyborg Foundation, which is working on new technologies, looking for doctors willing to cooperate, but also defending the rights of cyborgs and supporting people who want to become them.
Another, increasingly popular opportunity to become a cyborg is to implant a chip under the skin, which can replace payment cards, ID cards or passports. In 1998, Professor Kevin Warwick was the first person to implant such a chip under his skin, thus becoming the first cyborg. He implanted himself with an RFID radio chip, thanks to which he could turn on the light remotely only when entering through the door. In 2002 he went one step further and implanted himself with a hundred electrodes, connecting it directly to the nerves in his hand. This allowed him to communicate remotely with his wife (who also had an electrode implanted in her hand).
Changes are happening before our eyes, last year Sweden started research using NFC implants in public transport. Approximately 1500 participants had an NFC chip implanted under their skin, which allowed them to check in at railroad stations by waving their hands. Already a year ago, there were 3,000 Swedes who had implanted the chip. The implants introduced in Sweden use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, also used in credit cards. They are “passive”, which means they store data that can be read by other devices but cannot read the information themselves. [1]
In the context of chips, many threats are being discussed – from privacy breaches through tracking the user, access to their data, but also the possibility of becoming the object of cybercrime attacks. They can steal personal data, biometric data, home access codes and use them for the wrong purpose. Alexis Deswaef, President of the Belgian League of Human Rights, warns against possible “total control” at the workplace. With the help of chips, the employer can obtain information about the time at which the employee actually started work, or about breaks in his work and their length. As a result, the employee can be treated as a machine.
You can watch a short video about chips here
The law is also an important issue to consider. It is only recently that the question of what rights can be granted to cyborgs has begun to be considered. In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers cannot search without a cell phone warrant that was seized during an arrest because cell phones are an intimate part of our lives (Riley vs. California). One could even say, as Supreme Court president John Roberts noted, that they are an important feature of human anatomy.
In June 2019, the Supreme Court made another landmark decision, ruling that the police must obtain an order to access data from cell phones from operators. The court decided that our devices are an extension of our mind beyond the body. John Roberts, already mentioned earlier, stated that a cell phone “faithfully follows its owner outside public thoroughfares and into private residences, doctor’s offices, political sites and other places”.
In March, an Australian biohacker named Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow was fined $220 for violating the terms of public transport after he implanted a chip from his metro card in his hand. After appealing the conviction, the district court judge overturned the sentence, citing the good character of Meow-Meow and “a very unusual [case] involving a unique set of circumstances”.
The law makes a distinction between a person and a device, but what if the devices become part of our body? Legal complications are already becoming apparent. As mentioned earlier, Neil Harbisson was the first person recognized as a cyborg by the government. He did this by fighting the British government to allow him to place the antenna on his passport picture. He won this fight, thus becoming the first legally recognized cyborg in the world. Neil Harbisson was attacked by the police during a demonstration in Barcelona in 2012 because he was mistakenly thought to film it. The police tried to physically remove the device from his head, damaging it in a way that endangered his life. Harbisson saw this as an assault and not damage to property, because the device is part of his daily life and is “always on”. The law at the moment does not provide a solution to this situation.
Another legal problem that may arise is that of the privacy of the people the cyborg will record. This happened in 2012 and affected Steve Mann, who has a camera attached to his skull, called EyeTap. In 2012 he was attacked by a McDonald’s employee. The press described the assault as probably the first anti-cyborg hate crime in the world.
Technology practically does not leave us, we take phones with us everywhere, which collect millions of data about us. The phones are used not only to make calls, but also to use social networking sites, to entertain, take pictures, spend money. More and more often we can meet people with smartwatches, recording our every step. With the advent of the cyborg era, these are issues that society and its legislators will have to address urgently.
[1] https://mlodytechnik.pl/technika/29551-chipy-wszczepiane-pod-skore-za-piecdziesiat-lat
