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ShareProfessor Kevin Warwick is not happy being merely human. According to him, the only way humans can survive is by becoming part robot. In Mumbai to give a lecture at the tenth IIT Techfest, the professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, England, is best known for being the first human to have a chip implanted in his arm. Excerpts from an interview:
Tell us about your work with neural implants.
The neural implant is a chip made mainly of silicon, platinum and titanium. The first chip was implanted in my forearm in 1998. It allowed a computer to monitor me, using a unique identifying signal emitted by the chip. I could operate doors, lights, heaters and other computers without lifting a finger. Today there are about 7,000 people around the world with these.
The second chip was implanted above my left wrist. We found that the chip can even act as an extra sense. For example, I could walk around blindfolded because I could sense walls and other obstacles. These implants have the potential to help handicapped patients and have millions of other uses.
Did you ever feel scared?
No, though I freaked out once when I was in the US and found I could control a robotic hand in the UK. I was awed; my nervous system extended across two continents.
What about the future?
Mankind has no option but to move towards becoming machines. If we don't, robots will take over the world by 2050. We are too puny to combat the network of brains that machines have access to. We will keep at it because we are crazy enough to create things that can destroy us.
Prof. Warwick will speak on January 28 at 6pm at IIT-Powai Convocation Hall.
