Confessions of a bionic man

Science writer Michael Chorost, who is deaf, says his cochlear implants point the way to cutting edge technologies that will transform bodies in exciting ways. Today, implanted technologies are strictly for people with disabilities and don’t match the capabilities of normal organs. But that could change. An excerpt from his Outlook piece in the Washington Post:

This mismatch between our Pentium chips and our Paleolithic bodies could be solved by physically integrating the two, the way I have cochlear implants inside me. Much as my implants make my brain “hear” sound, more advanced implants could one day evoke sensations of sight, touch and even feelings.

… Consider where such technologies might go. Imagine someday being able to dictate e-mail with your thoughts, or thinking a Google search while walking down the street and “hearing” the answer read to you. Technologies like that could trigger changes in daily life even more profound than those unleashed by e-mail and the Web over the past 15 years.

… I see myself as a precursor to a world in which people communicate with each other, at great distances, in new ways, using implanted technologies that feel as much a part of their bodies as their own hands. We can’t imagine what that will be like, just as in 1978 no one could have imagined broadcasting their activities to friends by using Twitter on a cellphone.

Thirty years from now, our children may look back on us and wonder, “How could they stand to be so disconnected? How did they make it through the day?”

Michael Chorost is the author of “Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human.”

With a graphic explaining how cochlear implants work.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 at 1:50 pm and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, deaf/hard of hearing, technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post