Chipping Humans: Communication, Control

Imagine that as you reach your office, audio system at the entrance recognise you and issues a warm welcome and the doors open automatically. Lights blink on and the computer says ‘hello’ as soon as you enter your cabin. This is everyday life for Professor Kevin Warwick, who hosts a microchip in his body and is, technically, the first human Cyborg. The Director of Cybernetics department at University of Reading (UK), Warwick was here on Feb 15, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) to deliver a special lecture on the occasion of Annual Science and Technology Festival, Techkriti ‘08. Talking about his journey from a human to Captain Cyborg, Warwick said under the Project Cyborg, he underwent a surgery by Doctor George Boulos in August 1998 to get a RFID transmitter implanted under his arm. “The chip was used to control doors, lights, heaters and other computer controlled devices based on his proximity,” he said. The chief purpose of experiment was to test the limits of what the body can accept and how easily it receives meaningful signals from the chip. Regarding the second stage of research, he said he got implanted with a more complex chip, which interfaced directly with his nervous system, in March 2002. The experiment was successful, as the signals produced by the chip were detailed enough for a robot arm developed by his colleague Peter Kyberd to mimic the action of his arm. Warwick even went on to implant a simpler chip into the body of his wife. He wanted to try telepathy, using Internet to communicate the signal from afar. The experiment was successful and resulted in the first purely electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two human beings. Though his family found it “crazy” initially, he was determined to use the technology for helping the disabled, he said. The technology, he said, can help those suffering from blindness, physical deformities, diabetes, epilepsy and others. It could even completely change communication between people. Talking about the use of microchips in human body, he said developed nations were already using the technology for recognition of patients in hospitals, officials in high security zone and others. In future, people may not need to carry passport, keys, credit cards and other identity documents. “In many countries, people wish to get their children or partners implanted with chip in order to track them, but the question whether the use of chip in human body ethical, is still debatable,” he added.