Proof That Humans Are Already Cyborgs

if you're watching this video congratulations you're a cyborg sure you're probably not a cool super cyborg like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator or even a less critically acclaimed one like ray Fisher and DC's Justice League but trust me you're a cyborg nonetheless we all are ok ok I know that sounds crazy but before you start poking and prodding to see which your body parts turn into some kind of plasma cannon I should probably explain what I mean by that the term cyborg is short for cybernetic organism meaning a living thing that is augmented with some kind of technology that helps it either regain a bodily function like the ability to walk for example enhance an existing function or at a completely new one fictional cyborgs are typically known to have abilities like super-strength enhanced hearing and vision and even computer assisted brains so when asked to think of a cyborg most people immediately picture a person who has parts replaced with tech like a good old-fashioned robot arm for example however there exists an alternative type of cyborg as well called the lobster instead of having living parts replaced with tech lobsters refer to humans that enclose themselves within a removable external technological shell Tony Stark are IP and his Iron Man suit could be considered a type of lobster Borg although he has that glowy thing in his chest that makes him regular board - so he's actually like a weird hybrid but you get the idea ultimately all it takes to be considered a cyborg by definition is a physical attachment to a piece of technology that facilitates or improves your ability to function it's easy then to imagine how humans are already on that level after all if you get loose with the term technology you could argue that even ancient tech like pen and paper made us cyborgs since the ability to mail a letter and talk to someone halfway across the world enhanced our natural ability to communicate obviously this is a really lame way of interpreting a cool thing so I'm gonna assume this doesn't count the first instance of human-cyborg activity but it's still something to think about man can help us wrap our heads around what being a cyborg really means and even if we limit cyborg modifications to more futuristic electronic tech we still qualify as cyborgs take the humble pacemaker for example this electronic device is implanted within your body and uses an electric current to help regulate the heartbeats of patients whose natural pacemaker isn't functioning properly so it is in his flash he has a built-in jetpack but it's still pretty cool devices like contact lenses and hearing aids fit the bill too since there are technological innovations that help restore a person's failing senses so sure people that use these specific devices can be considered cyborgs cool but what if you're one of these boring old humans with 20/20 vision one hundred percent hearing in a trusty heart and you don't have any electronic devices dedicated to keeping you operational well don't worry you're a cyborg too let's rewind for a second back to the lobster Borg I mentioned earlier you know how we can consider someone who uses removable tech a form of a cyborg - well let's take a look at what you're watching this video on whether it's a phone laptop or tablet chances are this device is instrumental to your life to the point that you're on it for an ungodly amount of time every day you can use it to communicate with people instantly over vast distances answer almost any question you can think of mere moments after thinking of it and even follow your favorite celebrities every move on social media okay the last thing isn't nearly as cool as the others but you get the idea these wireless devices have engrained themselves into our day-to-day lives and as much as we'd like to think we can make do without them you really can't that much is evidenced by the fact that we experienced phantom limb syndrome a feeling typically reserved for amputees who are missing limbs with our cell phones that's right our phones have become so intertwined with our notions of self that they have literally melded with the niro matrix of our bodies becoming an appendage of their own when you forget your phone at home your brain literally makes the same mistakes at wood as if you were missing an arm or leg hearing phantom rings and feeling phantom vibrations this phenomenon is so common it's even been called a bunch of names like ring xiety phone tongue like phantom and my personal favorite fossil arm get it foes and fake cell and alarm anyway this just goes to show the extent to which we've grown to rely on technology tech becomes an indispensable component of our schools our workplaces and even our homes through smart systems like Alexa so while you may not feel as cool as Ironman when you ask Siri what the weather's gonna be like tomorrow the reality is you're kind of interfacing with a little precursor to his insuit AI system Friday while removable Tech is already here in augmenting our lives in previously unimaginable ways enormous strides are being made in the field of physical alteration and augmentation to the field of prosthetics is undergoing rapid innovation as discoveries have been made that are allowing people to straight up have robot arms that are capable of responding to their thoughts and intuitive movements while 50 years ago your best shot at a prosthetic was a wooden leg or maybe a hook for a hand nowadays we have prosthetics with tactile sensors that allow the user to feel and touch things in turn allowing them to delicately grab even the most fragile objects such as eggs without breaking them crazy stuff right and for some replacing body parts with robotics might not even be necessary a technique called epidural stimulation for example has been developed for paraplegics that involves implanting a series of tiny electrodes below a spinal cord injury to help the brain send signals to the legs and get them moving again these kinds of micro tech devices are able to interact with our bodies on a biochem level and potentially revolutionize our ability to recover from previously devastating injuries but I'll talk about that more in a second but like we mentioned earlier while most cyborg developments are used to restore or enhance an existing human functions some people are using technology to develop entirely new ones known as the transhumanist movement these folks have wholeheartedly embraced our cyborg lifestyles and are looking to push the boundaries even further take Neil Harbison for example Neil is probably the world's most prominent transhumanist born colorblind he underwent an operation to have an antenna surgically implanted into his skull it allows them to hear color as an artist Neil has created award-winning showcases using his unique ability and he is firmly of the belief that we should all be augmenting ourselves and our senses in order to experience new sensations meanwhile his good friend moon rebus has a seismic chip implanted in her elbow so she can literally feel earthquakes in her arm if I had to choose one of those two is my own cyborg superpower I'd probably go with the earring color but then again imagine trying to get through airport security with a literal antenna sticking out of your head yeah no thanks so clearly we're all cyborgs some of us more so than others and have been for a while so what's next on the agenda laser eyes a handy swiss army finger to answer that question we'll have to turn things over to the revolutionary yet polarizing Elon Musk a die-hard futurist musk believes that the next step in human development isn't modifying the body but rather modifying the brain according to musk human brains are extraordinary computers capable of taking in tons of information in a matter of moments however our bodies are less capable of outputting information take Twitter for example while you can scroll read a tweet and think of a reply within a second actually typing out that reply with your two thumbs takes much longer than that for musk the next step in human evolution is removing that physical limitation and allowing our brains to interact with technology directly the possibilities of what we could do with such technology are limitless first starters his proposed and Lync chip could restore lost eyesight hearing and even help combat brain disease like Alzheimer's in fact it's feasible that it could fix anything that's wrong with the brain and at its coolest and most futuristic level it could even allow for artificial intelligence that is symbiotically merged with your brain this arrangement would allow your brain to access and parse through resources like the World Wide Web with a mere thought think Iron Man again but this time your brain is Tony Stark the nearer link is Friday and your body is the suit crazy right in this scenario you could even feasibly upload your consciousness into a new body should something happen to your original one it sounds insane and we're still a long way from making it happen but it's seriously in the cards of course there are some drawbacks to the whole neural link proposal the first is the question of implementation after all will the thought of mind connected AI is cool the idea of someone sawing off your skull and sticking wires and circuit boards in there to make it happen is a little scary however Elon doesn't think that has to be the case according to him Tech is getting sophisticated enough that it's feasible we could install Hardware into our brains through our veins and arteries which he calls the roadway to our entire body and taking an injection in order to become an AI enhance cyborg doesn't sound that bad at all with implementation salt we run into mere practical problems like security getting a virus or malware on your computer sucks enough as it is just imagine getting one in your brain and that's not to mention the possibilities of hacking in order for something like this to work we'd have to be certain that insidious third parties wouldn't be able to infiltrate our thoughts after all no one wants a 14-year old hacker parsing through their head right finally there are some very real social implications that can emerge from the rise of cybernetic enhancements seriously imagine a world where the rich can literally augment their brains and bodies to beyond human capabilities and the lower classes are stuck with their boring old regular selves our existing class divides would be elevated to unimaginable levels so there you have it our world is full of cyborgs and you're one of them from your phone to your laptop to the contact lenses you take out at night your existence is augmented in almost every way by the tech we've developed and as technology gets crazier and crazier it's only a matter of time before we make the leap into cyber organisms as envisioned by science fiction writers and when that happens let's just hope we're prepared for it if you enjoyed this video be sure to hit like and subscribe down below then head over to the Brainiac YouTube channel for more futuristic fun we'll see you next time [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Brainiac

Views: 55,423

Rating: 4.8577681 out of 5

Keywords: Cyborg, Terminator, Iron Man, Cybernetic, Organism, Skynet, Technology, Enhance, Augment, brainiac, elon musk, neuralink, androids, facts, animated, animation, cartoon, interesting, what if, infograph, evolution, humans, robots

Id: MX3c9l3QUrE

Length: 10min 53sec (653 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 09 2020