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Peter Cochrane's Hard Drive 1999 Time is on the Cyborgs' side TWENTY years ago clerical staff in Britain boycotted the introduction of electric typewriters because they perceived a threat to their established skills and working practices. The unions considered a work to rule, go slow, and strike action. If only they could have foreseen the PC, a technology capable of promoting the demise of every typing pool on the planet. Around the same time the first pocket calculators were also arriving, and I remember being admonished by a mathematician for using a slide rule instead of logarithm tables. Once electronic calculators arrived, it was all over - logarithms and slide rules went the same way as the mechanical typewriter - only faster. What had lasted 350 years was wiped out in three. It is only about 10 years since first mobile phones arrived. These were true luggables, about the same size and weight as a house brick and very expensive. At the time, the critics could not see why these devices should enjoy any more than limited use by a very few people. Today, mobiles are smaller than a chocolate bar and cost nothing, and we can all afford them. And they are not bolted into vehicles as was originally conceived, but kept in pockets and hung on trouser belts. Just three years ago I put forward the notion that chip implants inside humans would become commonplace and as desirable as mobile phones. I also postulated that they would require telecommunication facilities. Well, the latest pacemakers now have a short-hop radio link, and in the past month there have been reports of paraplegics with silicon brain implants able to control computers, and artificial retinas restoring sufficient sight for someone totally blind to recognise letters of the alphabet. Even more impressive has been the construction of artificial bone and skin, plus the growing of ears and fingers that have seen reasonably functional, transplants. Given our accelerating time line, I don't think it will take 20 years for the protesters and naysayers to be overtaken by a population that says "yes" to all this. Most likely the next five years will see people with chip implants as commonplace. But what comes next is probably even more exciting. The race is on to replicate the sensory ability of humans by artificial means. That is - prosthetics that feel and sense. It is going to be interesting to see if the genetic and bio-engineering of replacement parts for our species can get there before an amalgam of carbon and silicon implants becomes viable. Right now it looks as if silicon is going to win and the cyborgs will prevail. Before anyone puts pen to paper or starts emailing me on this topic - I would ask them to consider the efficacy of cosmetic surgery, life enhancing drugs, and the potential for restoring human abilities and dignity by any artificial means. The key point is: we occupy that space between our ears - that is where we live. Our carcass serves only as a transport and life-support mechanism; just a vehicle needing maintenance and repair. Who cares if the spare parts are manufactured? Peter Cochrane holds the Collier Chair for the Public Understanding of Science & Technology at the University of Bristol. His home page is: |
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