SCIENCE fiction films and novels we’ve digested over the years have done much to shape our perception (and notion) of what cyborgs are and should be like. Villainous characters such as Darth Vader from the Star Wars franchise or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator come to mind when the word “cyborg” is bandied about.
Cyborgs have generally been established as cold, harsh and emotionless beings: half-human, half-robot, without a heart. That said, there have been cyborg characters which have been portrayed with kinder images, such as the much-loved Inspector Gadget and the good cop Major Killian in the recent movie Ghost In The Shell (starring Scarlett Johansson). Nonetheless, human emotions like love and the notion of friendship remain decidedly missing.
Due to all these preconceptions (of which I’m also guilty), I was left speechless when I finally met Neil Harbisson, an official cyborg, up-close at the Human+ Exhibition in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore recently.
He turned out to be exceptionally “human” and certainly no different from you and me, except for the antenna sticking out from behind his head.
Our meeting did leave me wondering as to whether there’d come a day when we’d see the rise of a legion of Robocops, as depicted in all those sci-fi films. Smiling, Harbisson is quick to assure me that there won’t be a scenario like that: “Even with these added technological enhancements, we’re still very much human and nobody can take that away from us.”
FICTION TO REALITY
A pleasant and welcoming smile spreads across his face as he shakes my hand. His gaze is friendly, like he’s assuring me that he won’t bite. Perhaps my trepidation is apparent for I can’t avert my eyes away from the metallic antenna sticking out from behind his head. It’s hard not to stare at the microphone-like “thing” hanging just above his eyebrows in the middle of his forehead.
If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought that he was wearing the latest GoPro helmet and was artistically filming his journey from a voyeuristic point of view. After all, Harbisson isn’t only a cyborg; he’s an avant-garde artist as well. Either that or he’s emulating an anglerfish.
“I’ve been laughed at a lot in the streets, even today,” confides Harbisson with a tinge of sadness. However, he adds that the antenna has invited many silly guesses too, each one more ridiculous than the previous. “Every year it’s something different. It seems to change according to what’s trending. Back in 2015, some children asked if it was an extendable selfie stick. Today, people just shout at me and call me a Pokemon. There are those who go as far as try ‘catching’ me with Poke balls,” shares Harbisson, chuckling.
A DIFFERENT SPECIES
Cybernetic organism, better known by its abbreviation “cyborg”, defines an organic being (usually human) that has restored functions or enhanced abilities due to additions of biomechtronic body parts (artificial or technological components). The term was coined back in the 1960s by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in their article in Astronautics Magazine.
Theoretically, this term can also be applied to describe disabled people with artificial mechanical components, just like Harbisson with his antenna. Technically, the antenna is used to help “correct” his rare colour blindness condition, where without it, he can only see in greyscale. The only difference is that his antenna is his “third eye” and not a wearable device that changes his current visual abilities.
He asserts that there’s a huge difference between wearing technology and having it be a part of who you are. His antenna, he argues, is an extra body part, very much like his other limbs, and isn’t a wearable technology, like a Google glass or a Bluetooth headset. “I can’t take it out or have it switch off even if I wanted too,” he says.
Despite being elated at having been officially branded a cyborg back in 2004, Harbisson admits that it hadn’t been an easy process. It took a long battle with the UK government who were adamant that they would not allow him to renew his passport with his antenna in the photograph. “They wanted me to hide it or take it out. But I argued, how can you hide or take out a body part like an eye or an ear?” exclaims Harbisson.
Eventually, he was allowed to have his passport renewed with his antenna in the photo. However, he assumes that his official status as a cyborg was granted mainly because the lawmakers got fed up in the end with the nonstop battle and decided to just accept his explanation. As a cyborg activist who supports others becoming like him, this little success has given him hope that it’ll help pave the way for others to transform and be accepted without hassle.
It’s a prospect that intrigues yet scares me.
BECOMING ONE WITH TECHNOLOGY
As I listen to Harbisson’s enthusiastic explanation, I couldn’t help asking why he didn’t just get his vision corrected. Wouldn’t that have been simpler? A pause and he replies: “I didn’t want to sense or see colours through my pre-existing senses because that would mean I’ve to modify my existing senses. I happen to believe that my senses are fine.”
Adding, Harbisson shares that he wanted a completely new sense and not to wear or use technology. “I believe that it’s much more practical to become technology because using them in the long-term can be uncomfortable. But, if it’s a body part, it doesn’t become uncomfortable. Instead, we’ll naturally merge with the technology and get used to having it around, like an arm or an ear,” he reasons.
Smiling, Harbisson adds: “It doesn’t hurt to have it and there’s no off switch. Like our eyes, it’s always on. You can cover it, but it doesn’t mean that it stops working. Even when I’m asleep, it doesn’t shut down. It just becomes silent when I switch off the lights. It really is like any other body part.”
The antenna that’s implanted in his skull transmits vibrations which allow him to hear colour frequencies, giving him a new sense of colours. It’s just like how bats sense distance. It was a project he started in Dartington College of Arts with Adam Montandon in 2003. The antenna was then implanted in him by an anonymous surgeon in 2004.
The past 13 years hasn’t only been an arduous journey; it’s also been an exciting one. It took him three years to learn the spectrum of colours and its frequencies. Following that, he went on to improve his “visual” reach, equipping it with infrared and ultraviolet sensors, WiFi capabilities, and opening his “sight” to four selected friends and a sculpture in different continents.
His most challenging addition, shares Harbisson, was to gain access to one of Nasa’s satellites, which would allow him to sense colours in space. “It felt like being in a thousand supermarkets at one time!” he enthuses.
SURVIVAL GAME
Ever since he’s had this new “ability”, Harbisson confides that it has helped him to literally see the world in a different light.
“I was shocked that there are colours everywhere! Even in the corners!” he exclaims, adding: “But what’s shocked me most is the fact that people are not black or white, like everyone says. Instead, we’re all from the same orange hue. You’re either lighter or darker orange depending on the amount of light bouncing off you. And cities are never grey like how many people have described them to me.”
Looking thoughtful, Harbisson confesses that having the knowledge and being able to debunk facts that many have accepted as truths for centuries have made him feel more empowered. That’s why he suggests that we learn from other species, especially insects, where many of his inspirations are derived from, so we can be “better humans” considering that we actually have very limited capabilities.
With the advent of technology fusing with science and the success of Harbisson as a cyborg, will we one day be able to alter ourselves so much that we become an entirely different species?
Would we have to in order to survive in the future? What a scary thought.