“Third Thumb” Augmentation Changes the Way we Think of Prosthetics
In preparation of a cyborg future, U.S. DoD agency DARPA is making decisive efforts at connecting the human brain to our digital networks. Based on the agency’s new program Neural Engineering System Design (NESD), research into neurotechnology is hoping to transform an older and much larger technology into one which can be implanted inside of brain tissue and connect to our central nervous system. Doing so would require a biocompatible device that is merely one cubic centimeter in size.
As a result, not only will future citizens (and surely future soldiers) be able to enhance their means of collecting information, but will subsequently have any deficits in either sight or hearing be compensated. In other words, their sales pitch is thus: become able-bodied or become augmented – your choice!
“A new DARPA program aims to develop an implantable neural interface able to provide unprecedented signal resolution and data-transfer bandwidth between the human brain and the digital world. The interface would serve as a translator, converting between the electrochemical language used by neurons in the brain and the ones and zeros that constitute the language of information technology.”
– DARPA
Photo Credit: DARPA
According to DARPA, to achieve such a feat, it will require breakthroughs in neuroscience, synthetic biology, low-power electronics, photonics, medical device packaging and manufacturing, systems engineering, and clinical testing. Software wise, they’ll need to develop advanced mathematical and neuro-computation techniques to accommodate transcoded high-definition sensory information between electronic and cortical neuron representations. Once compressed, the data should be represented with minimal loss of fidelity and functionality.
It won’t be easy, but given the exponential acceleration of information technologies, our cyborg future is closer now more than ever.
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
DARPA is no stranger to futuristic scientific and technological developments. Other than Google, it’s the one agency who not only recognizes the coming Transhumanist era, but is subsequently making great strides in preparation of said era. The idea of someone becoming a cyborg might’ve previously been nothing more than pure science-fiction, but today it’s a gradual fact of life. People will have the choice of becoming cyborgs, with the help of cybernetics and gene-editing, and even have the choice to the extent of their enhancements and augmentations. Some will choose to remain biologically organic, similar to today’s Amish, but I suspect that a majority of the global population will opt for cyborg enhancements – either for medical reasons or purely aesthetic purposes.
About the author
B.J. Murphy is the Editor and Social Media Manager of Serious Wonder. He is a futurist, philosopher, activist, author and poet. B.J. is an Affiliate Scholar for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) and an Ambassador for the robotics company Humai.
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