How long till we see cyborgs?

Question

Given the present state of biotechnology as it is, how much time do you think we'll have to wait before we have cybernetically-augmented people?

(Not counting artificial knee-caps and hearts, but actual cybernetic limbs, eyes, audio sensors, etc..)

Answer 1

We already have cyborgs. The BrainGate system is chip implanted into the brain that can read activity in certain areas and translate it to computer commands. It's still a little primitive. It won't translate thought into text, for example, but it does allow the user to move a cursor around on a screen and execute simple commands.

To my knowledge, they've been able to input images directly into the brain, since the layout of the vision center directly corresponds to a person's field of view. Cochlear implants have been around for a while too, though they don't directly interface with the brain, but act as a hearing aid that bypasses the eardrum.

The big problem that we're facing now is that the human body doesn't like to have foreign bodies implanted in it. Even in in the case of titanium, which is non-reactive in humans, the tissues that it contacts slowly erodes over time. The same is true of electrodes in the brain. I've heard success in directly wiring a robotic arm into the brain of a primate (so that the robotic arm is controlled as a real one would be), but the success was short-lived, as the nerve cells next to the electrodes started to die off. The same is true of bone that artificial joints are implanted into, as the bone decalcifies and becomes brittle. Researchers are experimenting with new materials and compounds to coat electrodes with to stimulate bonding with nerves. We're probably not too far off from a solution to this problem.

Answer 2

Check the page of Kevin Warwick, Professor in cybernetics at the University of Reading.

He is a strong believer in Transhumanist principles of augmenting oneself with technology. He has implanted chips in himself that do simple things like turning the lights on/off in rooms when he enters or leaves, opening automatic doors, "recording" the nerve impulses in his arm when he moves it (in order to move a robotic arm in the same way), sensing when his wife (and her chip) is near, and more.

Interestingly, "bionics" was originally an engineering term for copying features found in nature; what we would nowadays term "biomimetics"
The tem "cyborg" originally meant humans augmented to survive in extraterrestrial environments.
"Cybernetics" (from the greek for "steersman") is an old term, referring to communication and control systems. It was originally coiled in 1834 to describe the command-control loop in politics, but was re-invented in 1947 to describe the command and control of *any* system (whether machine or organism).
Transhumanism was originally coined by Julian Huxley (brother to Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World) as being the philosophical belief that humans can use reason to improve the human condition - including medicine, tools etc. However, nowadays it has often come to mean uploading oneself into computers, or augmenting oneself with robotic parts, etc.

Answer 3

its hard to tell if you think how technology evolved until now. if the evolution of technology continues at the current speed i say that in 2030 we will see a robot that thinks like us but the movement its a little hard to make so ill give them until 2045-2050.

Answer 4

Obviously you aren't watching very much television.

Have you ever seen Al Gore? There is NO WAY that he can be made up of actual living, breathing tissue. I think Disney made him.

Answer 5

Not in our lifetime.