Cyborg tech has mostly been backroom, squishy, bloody, and experimental. Now an FDA-approved surgically implanted hearing aid connects to your standard-issue iPhone.
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Category: cyborgs – Page 97
Cyborgs erobern die Welt
Posted in cyborgs
We’re always hearing how robots are going to take our jobs, but there might be a way of preventing that grim future from happening: by becoming workplace cyborgs first.
A company in Wisconsin has become the first in the US to roll out microchip implants for all its employees, and says it’s expecting over 50 of its staff members to be voluntarily ‘chipped’ next week.
The initiative, which is entirely optional for employees at snack stall supplier Three Square Market (32M), will implant radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips in staff members’ hands in between their thumb and forefinger.
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I’m really excited to announce a 5-page feature spread on my #transhumanism work and Libertarian Governor campaign in today’s Times of London Magazine, one of England’s oldest and largest papers. There’s a paywall for digital but I think you can get two articles free without registering. If you have access to the print, it’s in the magazine:
Zoltan Istvan is launching his campaign to become Libertarian governor of California with two signature policies. First, he’ll eliminate poverty with a universal basic income that will guarantee $5,000 (£3,800) per month for every Californian household for ever. (He’ll do this without raising taxes a dime, he promises.) The next item in his in-tray is eliminating death. He intends to divert trillions of dollars into life-extending technologies – robotic hearts, artificial exoskeletons, genetic editing, bionic limbs and so on – in the hope that each Californian man, woman and AI (artificial intelligence) will eventually be able to upload their consciousness to the Cloud and experience digital eternity.
“What we can experience as a human being is going to be dramatically different within two decades,” he…
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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Thanks to a new “suit” being developed by the DOD-funded Warrior Web program, future Soldiers will be able to march longer, carry heavier gear and improve mental sharpness.
The suit has pulleys and gears designed to prevent and reduce musculoskeletal injuries caused by the dynamic events typically experienced in the Warfighter’s environment.
Scientists and engineers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have been testing variations of the suit for more than three years at the Soldier Performance and Equipment Advanced Research, or SPEAR, facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
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I have recently re-kindled my interest in neuro-hacking, the process of using technological and spiritual tools to essentially hack my consciousness, make myself calmer, and of course, happier! I’ve been using vitamins (D3!) and isochronic tones for some time, but I have run across a number of new devices and apps recently. I got a demo kit for a new device called Thync, that purports to alter brain waves to achieve greater calm, less stress, and more energy. This follows, for me, several decades of interest in this arena, also fueled by a bunch of projects in the works that seek to augment human potential using the latest brain science, emerging hardware, and games.
This is an area of professional interest as well as personal. I’m a socio-cultural anthropologist with a focus on digital culture, technology use, and future possibilities. My graduate work focused on social learning associated with online gaming. A lot of my focus falls into a sub-discipline of anthropology known as cyborg anthropology:
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Rapid developments in brain-machine interfacing and neuroprosthetics are revolutionizing the way we treat paralyzed people, but the same technologies could eventually be put to more generalized use—a development that’ll turn many of us into veritable cyborgs. Before we get to that point, however, we’ll need to make sure these neural devices are safe, secure, and as hacker-proof as possible.
In anticipation of our cyborg future, researchers from the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva Switzerland have published a new Policy Forum paper in Science titled, “Help, hope, and hype: Ethical dimensions of neuroprosthetics.” The intent of the authors is to raise awareness of this new breed of neurotechnologies, and the various ways they can be abused. Importantly, the researchers come up with some ways to mitigate potential problems before they arise.
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A major hi-tech Russian military research center has unveiled what appears to be a prototype of a next-generation combat suit. The stunning gear, resembling Star Wars outfits, will be worn by Russian soldiers on future battlefields.
The prototype features a helmet covering the soldier’s face and cutting-edge body armor.
The next-generation combat gear also includes a powered exoskeleton to help increase performance and stamina while fighting.
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Bionic leg brace
Posted in cyborgs, transhumanism
