The Cyborg Revolution

Research + presentation

CONTEXT
The Undergraduate Research Scholars Academy (URSA), established at Loyola Marymount University, is a 10-day residential program where high-achieving students are assigned mentors consisting of professors, graduate students, peers, and a librarian. One of the goals is to task students with researching a current social issue and recommending potential solutions in a presentation at the program’s conclusion.

WHAT I DID
I produced a 7-minute presentation to share my research findings about The Cyborg Revolution.

SKILLS DEVELOPED
The experience helped me develop research, presentation, networking, time management, and organizational skills.

Undergraduate Research Scholars Academy, Loyola Marymount University, 2015 Cohort

What is a Cyborg?

A cybernetic organism, part human, part machine; Those seeking to use technology to gain extrasenses or “superhuman” qualities.

Professor Kevin Warwick

Professor Kevin Warwick of Reading University in England is credited as being the first documented cyborg.

Warwick got his first implant in 1998 — a simple Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip about the size of a penny was placed under the skin in his arm.
Computers in his lab at the University of Reading were connected to antennas that detected radio waves transmitted by the chip, allowing the computers to monitor
and perform tasks for Warwick as he approached, such as opening electronic doors.

Easy Enough A Tattoo Artist Can Do It

RFID chips have been implanted by tattoos artist, by slicing the skin, inserting the implant in a small glass capsule, and stitching it closed.
Allowing you to place your phone over the implant and have a custom GIFs pop up. The implant essentially works as a storage unit for digital art,
allowing you to change the contents of the chip on your phone, so you don’t have to physically retrieve it every time you want to put new art on it.

Unlocking Possibilities

Implants in the hand can allow you to unlock your home, car, computer and more.

Restoring Vision

A former science teacher who's been blind for 16 years became able to see letters, discern objects' edges — and even play a Maggie Simpson video game
thanks to a visual prosthesis that includes a camera and a brain implant.

Brain Implants Enhance the Brain

Brain implants will enhance the brain by Improving memory, enabling brain to brain communication, and create an extra sense of multidimensional thinking. This will extend to the body in the form of prosthetics, help us understand math better and increase our speed of thinking. For example, with a chip implanted into your brain, you can connect to the internet just by thinking of a search query. Instead of typing or speaking into your device, the chip will allow you to think of your query and download the information to your brain instantaneously .

Privacy & Security

If my brain is connected to the internet via a brain implant chip, does this mean that my brain can be hacked? How do I protect my brain from being hacked? What is the punishment for violating laws pertaining to brain implant chips?

Mental Advantage

If my brain is connected to the internet, my brain is as smart as Google or some other search engine. Maybe having access to a specific search engine via brain implant becomes a premium feature you can purchase through a brain implant App Store. If Participant A is willing to get a brain implant that makes Participant A as smart as Google, but Participant B is not willing to get a brain implants maybe this allows Participant A to have a Mental Edge over Participant B.

Humans and Technology