Kitabı oku: «Mensch. Maschine. Kommunikation.», sayfa 23
3 Examples and Possibilities for Bodyhacking
The present chapter systematizes bodyhacking with the help of technical (especially information technologyTechnik) means according to goals and tasks (see Bendel 2020). With humans, the “intelligent body” (or “intelligence in the body”) and the extension of sensual experiences with pleasant and unpleasant consequences both play a role. The term “human enhancementHuman Enhancement” would not be adequate or sufficient here, because not only improvement, but also change and displacement are involved. The alleged or actual beautification of the human being through its fusion with technology is also addressed. With plants and animals, the substitution of previous processes and regulations is particularly relevant.
The author mentions various practical examples from previous years and decades. Additionally, situations that have not yet or rarely occurred are outlined. The focus is on responses to crises and disasters like wars and pandemics and in the context of journeys to satellites (like the moon) and foreign planets (like Mars or like exoplanets). COVID-19 has shown us from the end of 2019 how quickly humanity can enter an existential medical and economic crisis. Climate change is also likely to have a significant impact on all our lives. Therefore it is important to consider potential, as well as existing, threats to human existence.
3.1 The Intelligence in and on the Body
The intelligent or smart body is created by enriching it with computer chips and memories or connecting and fusing it with computers. This body can store and exchange data in a more expansive way than before and interact easily with the environment. It can also explore itself in other ways, such as measuring its functions and reporting the data to the “owner”. In extreme cases, the body may receive additional artificial brains or fragments of brains. The technology involved does not necessarily have to penetrate the body but can lie close to it.
One of the most popular methods of bodyhacking is the implantation of Near Field Communication (NFC) chips. In humans, it is customary to choose the area between the thumb and forefinger (see Bendel 2020), where there are few nerve cells and complications are unlikely. The British cyberneticist Kevin Warwick, who was one of the first bodyhackers in this sense, had this operation performed in 1998 (see Connor 1998; Warwick 2002). With a microchip of this kind one can make payments, open doors, turn on the light and save data. The application of a chip is also important for animals, for example for opening cat flaps, for storing data to better track wild animals, where RFID chips with a higher range and tracking devices may be required. In addition to this, chips can be used for the identification of animals especially, however in the future this may be possible with regard to humans as well.1
Besides computer chips, people use devices with biosensors, an example of which is the product called Circadia from Grindhouse Wetware (see Adams 2017). This device measures body temperature and theoretically also pulse, blood pressure or oxygen saturation. The data can be transferred to a smartphoneSmartphone via Bluetooth and examined via an app. This creates live and permanent streams of (in practice very limited) personal data. In addition to self-tracking and especially life logging – which to a certain extent is also permitted by wearables – the main purpose of these devices is medical (see Bendel 2020). Implants of this kind could one day become interesting for digital twin technology, which has long been sought not only in production but also in the health sector (see Six 2019). The subject generates data in real time with which the digital copy is fed and built up. The idea is that before giving a patient a drug or performing an operation on him or her, including bodyhacking, this could be tested on the digital twin.
Intelligent contact lenses are contact lenses that are designed to transmit information about the health of their user or to deliver medication (see Bendel 2019b). Whether one wants to speak of bodyhacking here is again a question of definition.2 Companies such as Google and Novartis have become active in this field in the new millennium. Among other things, they have targeted diabetics whose lives could be saved thanks to this technology – because carelessness, lack of or disregard for information can mean death. According to the approach, the results of blood glucose measurements would be wirelessly transmitted to smartphonesSmartphone or smart watches or projected directly onto the retina. Intelligent lenses could also be used for therapy. For example, they could help to restore the eye’s natural focus in cases of presbyopia (a form of ametropia that occurs in older people). In 2018, however, these companies have put their projects on hold (see Ronca/Orizet 2018). What could also be mentioned in this context is the Open Artificial Pancreas System project (OpenAPS) (https://openaps.org).
The so-called DNA-of-things could lead to further applications (see Koch et al. 2020).3 These are microscopically small memories, which in principle – unlike electromagnetic memories – can last a very long time. The artificial DNA is inserted into silica gel beads to stabilize it. It is intended to be used for storage of data and information in objects and machines. If, for example, a blueprint is stored, it can be read out with a suitable device and the object can be reconstructed. In this way, machines could replicate themselves on satellites or foreign planets, which is a possibility that the inventors have also pointed out (see Krempl 2019). Presumably the DNA-of-things can be injected into living beings as well. It would have to be examined whether it would degrade there – depending on where exactly it is – or whether it would remain stable. In a tiny memory one could record basic data like a person’s date and place of birth, as well as parental and sibling information. The read-out devices can be connected to other application and information systems. States could be interested in this, with its implications for migration, the police or secret services. But one could also have an interest for the possible opportunity to enforce rights and claims.
3.2 The TechnicalTechnik Expansion of the Senses
Bodyhacking can also change human or animal perception of the environment, of things and living beings (see Bendel 2020). One sees, hears and smells differently thanks to certain technicalTechnik extensions, one feels differently, has different states of sensation and arousal, even in a sexual sense. It should be noted that the brain must first get used to such impressions and may not even be able to cope with them, creating unintentional processes and reactions. In addition, there may be welcome or unwelcome interactions and interferences between natural and artificial senses.
In 2002, Kevin Warwick – according to Podbregar (2018) – had another microchip implanted, which was connected to the nerve fibres of his forearm via 100 fine electrodes (see Podbregar 2018). The foreign body is thus, in contrast to the last section, physically and functionally connected to the body. This interface, called “Braingate”, allowed the famous cyborgCyborg to control the chip and its functions directly by nerve impulses, according to the source mentioned above. After some training he was able to pilot a robot arm via WLAN and Internet (see Podbregar 2018). According to his own statements, he also expanded his sensory perception. Thus, he became the forerunner of another movement: the movement of the expansion of the senses.
Small magnets can be implanted in the fingertips, the toes or other parts of the body (see Bendel 2020). They provide the wearer with novel sensory abilities. If he or she is near metal, he or she notices the attraction under the skin. Initially, this is only felt as a tickle in the fingertips. But over the course of a few months, the brain learns to associate this stimulus not with a touch of the finger but with the presence of a magnetic field – i.e. the artificial magnetic sense is integrated into perception (see Podbregar 2018). Certainly, the tissue will reach its limits here, depending on the size of the implants. Theoretically, the magnet can also affect electromagnetic storage. However, for this it must have a certain strength.
With North Sense from CyborgnestCyborg (https://www.cyborgnest.net), a device as unusual as it is (at least at first glance) senseless, you will be able to sense North as a direction (see Bendel 2020). The pocket watch-sized instrument is anchored in the skin above the sternum (see Drees 2016). It begins to vibrate when its wearer – like Liviu Babitz, founder of the company – turns north. The person him- or herself becomes a needle that aligns itself and stops when it has found the right direction. This device also seems to have something to do with magnetism. Moon Ribas, another exponent of the scene, wears a small sensor in her elbow (see Sayej 2016). Whenever an earthquake occurs somewhere on earth, fed by information, it starts to vibrate, slightly in weak earthquakes and heavily in strong ones.
From 2004 onwards, Neil Harbisson became known to a wider audience. At this time the colour-blind artist had the Eyeborg implanted (see Bendel 2020). According to Podbregar, a sensor located at the front of the head detects the wavelength of light emitted by objects, i.e. their colour (see Podbregar 2018). A chip implanted in the skull bone converts this information into vibrations of a certain frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through the bone to the ear, so that Harbisson can now hear the colours of his surroundings (see Podbregar 2018). Rob Spence, who lives in Canada, inserted a mini camera into his empty eye socket at Café Sphères in Zurich on 8 March 2013 and called himself Eyeborg. The author was among the participants of the event marking the 25th anniversary of the AI Lab Zurich. The film producer, who is documenting his project on eyeborgproject.tv, cannot see with the mini camera, but can take pictures and then watch them with his remaining eye – which upset his girlfriend, as he told the audience in Zurich.
Further developments and objectives are possible for the intelligent contact lenses mentioned above. Researchers at the University of Washington have integrated a tiny display of light-emitting diodes into them that projects images and text from mobile devices directly into the eye. “One obvious problem is powering such a device. The circuitry requires 330 microwatts but doesn’t need a battery. Instead, a loop antenna picks up power beamed from a nearby radio source. The team has tested the lens by fitting it to a rabbit” (Venkatraman 2009). Production for humans has not yet been achieved, but when it is, people would constantly carry their screens around with them, which would fundamentally augment reality in an unprecedented way. Additional information could be observed by the wearer or by institutions for special cases like crises and disasters. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, such supplements could replace or supplement the current apps. One would get live information that an infected person is nearby. When seconds count, contact lenses could be a real advantage.
Climate change and its consequences could require new capabilities in the context of sensory expansion. Entire swathes of land could be flooded, similar to the dystopian science fiction film Waterworld (1995). Those who are unable to migrate or avoid it will have to come to terms with the situation very quickly. Sensors anchored in the body that perceive the behaviour of water, such as when it enters a houseboat, would be an option. Of course, the technology could also be installed in the dwellings themselves, but it is conceivable that it would make more sense to implant them into people themselves, especially if they are constantly changing their whereabouts. They could also report acute danger, for example if a wearer was sleeping and water was beginning to cover parts of the chest or even the face. Artificial webbed feet might help a user to move around in water or to scoop water, as well as “artificial gills” that would allow a wearer to stay under water longer. Mermaids have long been in vogue and are mainly portrayed by girls and women, for social media and in competitions up to the Miss Mermaid World Contest – it remains to be seen whether they would really have a better chance of survival with this fin.
On foreign planets, which humans want to conquer, useful bodyhacking would primarily be focused on biochemical, physiological, and electronic modifications – as Clynes and Kline emphasized in 1960 (see Clynes/Kline 1960) – and in particular also on sensory expansion. Flights to the moon have been carried out and expeditions to Mars are planned for the 2030s (see Wall 2019). On satellites and foreign planets there is a different gravity, the distances in the horizontal and vertical are different, there is a different environment, with a different rock composition and a different (or no) atmosphere. Additional sensors could be important in order to perceive the difference and be alerted to dangers. Space suits are well known, but more advanced, special exoskeletons could strengthen and relieve the body in the new environment. Built-in communication systems would guarantee permanent accessibility to other crew members, in the spaceship and in buildings and cities built on satellites and planets. For only temporary stays on the moon, no expansion of the human body was necessary, for permanent presence on the moon or Mars this could be different and vital.
3.3 The Control of Machines and Animals
Bodyhacking can enable people to take the body as a starting point, but still overcome it (see Bendel 2020). The human being would be the control element in a cyber-physical world. Just as the bank card has become contact-free, the human being can become contact-free as well, for example controlling something with a wink, with thoughts, or through the mere presence of information technology in the body. This is relevant, for example, when germs like SARS-CoV-2 threaten us and we have to keep our distance from control elements and user interfaces. The human being equipped in this way breaks through the total automation, as desired in IndustryIndustrie 4.0 with its cyber-physical systems, in a purposeful and reasonable way.
High-tech prostheses are often considered to be bodyhacking, although they are hardly related to a do-it-yourself movement (see Bendel 2015).1 Rather, they are intended for disabled and limited persons and are developed by specialized companies and experienced experts and attached to the remaining sections of the extremities and the torso of the affected person. They are part of the human body, just as natural arms and legs are, if only because they largely replace their function. They are usually coupled with nerves of the existing residual limbs, so that the movements can be induced directly. Equally important as grasping, lifting and holding is the appearance. High-tech prostheses may be regarded as robotsRoboter, i.e. as sensorimotor machines. In the future, more smart prostheses could be used, for example as additional limbs.
Thought control is a more recent area in which considerable progress is being made (see Tönnesmann 2012). The best results are achieved with brain implants – but non-invasive procedures are also possible, such as hoods fitted with measuring electrodes that are pulled over the head (see Till 2019). These have existed for decades, but now achieve much better results. Starting in 2012, an American woman with paraplegia was able to use her mind to move an external robotic arm – basically a co-robot that is at her side – and make it reach out to her or take something from her (see Podbregar 2018). This was, if you like, a continuation of Kevin Warwick’s experiment and a transfer into practice. Thought control of high-tech prostheses and adapted wheelchairs is also possible and has been implemented in several countries, both in Germany and Switzerland (see Till 2019).
Further implementations are possible with the aforementioned intelligent contact lenses. They can be used to control devices if they register the blinking of the eye or the direction of vision (see Bendel 2019b). This is reminiscent of eye trackers and pupil control. Eye trackers analyse pupil and eyelid position and thus directly detect lack of attention and existing fatigue. The pupil position is also determined during pupil control, but now because the pupils are to be used for control. The user must be awake and must control the movement of his or her eyes. External devices like eye trackers are usually used. The intelligent contact lenses, on the other hand, sit directly on the cornea, just like normal contact lenses. This means that the control is always available, without the wearer being easily recognized by those present. The NuPoint head mouse allows control by head movements. Pupil control and head mouse were developed primarily for people with disabilities. However, they can also be helpful for other people.
Teledildonics could be an important form of mutual, pleasurable control during crises and disasters such as a war, an epidemic or pandemic, which are accompanied by isolation and quarantine and border closures. The partner is unreachable because he or she is under quarantine, but can operate the dildo or another sex toy you have on or in your body. Conversely, one can control the equipment at the partner’s side and give him or her satisfaction at a distance. It can also be used, if you have a disability (see Gomes/Wu 2017). Furthermore, completely new sensations are possible, which is then related to the topic discussed in the last section of this article. An indication of such possibilities are modern vibrators that stimulate other areas than is usual in classical sexual intercourse, using different methods.
Influencing and restricting animals, especially insects and mammals, has also become a reality. RoboRoach is an information technology upgraded cockroach that can be controlled with a smartphoneSmartphone. The electronic component to be applied to it can be ordered from Backyard Brains (https://backyardbrains.com). This company claims that RoboRoach can be used to better understand biological and neural processes, among other things (see Bendel 2016b). However, it was probably also concerned about potential scandal. Another possible purpose is surveillance. Military, police and secret services (or just stalkers) are interested in the experiments and prototypes, since mobile spies can be created with simple means. A further project is the virtual fence for cattle, created by a collar or a device on the head of the animal (see Fossgreen 2015). In crises and disasters, as well as on other celestial bodies, such options for restricting and controlling living beings would be quite important.
3.4 Protection and Arming with the Help of Bodyhacking
Numerous defence mechanisms, combat equipment and strategies are known from the plant and animal kingdom. Living beings have shells, strong hair, thick skin, needles, spikes, thorns, horns, tusks and fangs, spray toxic substances and give out electric shocks. They want to protect themselves, appear dangerous or are dangerous, they defend themselves or attack, for direct or indirect self-preservation. In fairy tales and legends, living beings go a step further, for example when they breathe fire like dragons. Humans, as harmless as they appear physically, are also ready to attack with teeth and fingernails as well as fists. They used clubs and stones early on, and of course they have surrounded themselves with numerous highly developed tools and weapons over time.
In the context of crises and catastrophes and specifically on a foreign planet, bodyhacking can offer protection and enable one to arm oneself and others. One is given new possibilities, equipping oneself and others. Protective armour would be one possibility, lighter than knight’s armour, more flexible or harder than soldiers’ and policemen’s uniforms, covered with an impenetrable or slippery film, kitted with spikes and edges for active defence. Think of Iron Man and other superheroes, the characters of modern fairy tales that use technicalTechnik enhancements more than fabulous or magical abilities. Implants could serve as thread glands, venomous syringes and knife blades; here too, science fiction and fantasy send their greetings, specifically Spiderman and Wolverine, but without the unbelievable genesis of these figures.
Pets, farm animals and wildlife could also be protected and armed so that they would be able to survive and defend themselves better. They have always been at a disadvantage compared to humans in many situations, being captured, kept and killed. Armament could contribute to their liberation, or to their protection against the owners’ opponents, but it could also lead to unintended victims. However, if they accompany humans to inhospitable environments and to foreign planets, protection and armament could be vital for them and their owners. They could meet unknown enemies in an appropriate way and arm themselves against flooding, rockfall, fire etc. On the other hand, they need not fear Aliens for the time being.
