DIY Transhumanism - The Cyberpunk Future Has Arrived!

Uncertain but Exciting Future

The world of cybernetics is growing rapidly. From longevity research to nanobots, the future that this research paints is bright. But on the backside of this research is fledgling community of biohackers, who refuse to wait for the singularity to happen and take action instead.

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(Excerpt from 'The Peripheral' by William Gibson)

Going back to Jimmy’s was a bad idea. Knew it soon as she’d walked into the dark and the dancing, the smell of beer and state weed and homegrown tobacco. The bull was leaning out of the mirror, eyeing a girl who might have been fourteen. The LEDs were pulsing to a song Flynne had never heard before and wouldn’t have wanted to again, and she was the oldest living thing in the building. Still wearing her black security guard outfit. And she hadn’t even found Macon, over on the side of the lot where mostly black kids hung, where he did his funny business. She’d come because she still needed to ask him what Homes might have made of the phone he’d made for her, but maybe she’d really just been hoping for someone to talk to. She hadn’t felt like the sandwich she’d made to eat after the shift, and she didn’t feel like she’d ever be hungry.

That shit in the game. She hated that shit. Hated games. Why did they all have to be so fucking ugly?

She got a beer, her phone dinging as Jimmy’s ran a tab. Took the bottle to a little round corner table, unwiped but mercifully empty, sat down, tried to look like the meanest old lady she could. Girl who’d passed her the beer had a Viz, like Macon and Edward had, a tangle like silver cobweb filling one eye socket, but you could still see the eye behind it, watching whatever the little units strung in the tangle were projecting. Hefty Mart had to scan your socket before they fabbed you one, so it would fit, and there weren’t any funny ones yet. Looked better on a black face, she thought, but most every kid here had one and it made her feel old, and more so that she thought they looked kind of stupid. It was something every year. ""

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This kind of reality is closer than you might suspect!

I already feel old when I see how fused the current generation is to their mobile phones. It's just a matter of time until VR goes completely mainstream. People running around with Star Trek style visors is just around the corner. How long until we can have VR contacts, giving us Terminator style vision. This future is here. William Gibson's predictions are getting close to reality!

The Transhuman Cyberpunks

When they hear the term 'transhumanism', most people tend to think about longevity, singularity, and nanobots. And those high profile research projects is just what is needed to attract funding and investors. But on the other scale of the spectrum there is an underground movement that is gaining popularity. The cutting edge of bio-hacking, performed without proper equipment, in self-made labs or tattoo parlors.

They call themselves wetware hackers, and they are part of the grinder movement. Not wanting to wait until technology evolves, they are using current day electronics to enhance the human body. Fusing their body with all kinds of electronics. These are the pioneers that put their own health at stake for the advancement of the human race. Disillusioned by the slow progress of technology, they take matters into their own hands and experiment on themselves.

Kevin Warwick:

Maybe not a true cyberpunk in the strict sense of the word. But professor Warwick is THE pioneer in the field of interfacing electronics with the nervous system. He became famous for his left arm implant, which allows him to control a robotic hand. Kevin's wife has a similar, less advanced, chip implant. This allows him to register his wife's movements. His end goal is to create complete brain-to-brain interfaces.

Here is one of his more famous ted talks:

More information here: http://www.kevinwarwick.com/

Rich Lee:

This salesman from Utah implanted tiny magnets in his ears. Combined with a coil around his neck this allows him to play music straight into his ears. I am impressed by his actions, since he has no technical or science background. Just someone who wanted to see the future he always imagined happen and decided to do something about it!

For more information on Rich, here is an in-depth interview with him:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-transhumanist-philosopher/201407/interview-transhumanist-biohacker-rich-lee

Tim Cannon:

Tim is the creator of Grindhouse Wetware, a company trying to create low-cost cybernetics. His designs are all open-source and everyone is able to use them. He got famous when he installed the 'Circadia' chipset in his left arm in 2013. It's been relatively quiet since then, apart from a few videos on his youtube channel.

http://grindhousewetware.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/TimmyCNinja/videos

Lepht Anonym:

Lepht might be the first true cyberpunk in history. Lepht identifies as gender-neutral and has over 50 procedures done. Going from an RFID chip to control switches and turning on her computer, to a chip in her right knee that gives the user the sensory experience of finding the magnetic north. This charismatic figure takes the crown of the 'scrapheap transhumanists' for me. The latest news shows that there are some health concerns, but they have nothing to do with the implants. Perhaps a whole new future is awaiting Lepht by joining Steemit and documenting the progress of the implants here for all of us. My vote is already cast!

Here is her three part presentation of the grinder movement during the 27th Chaos Communication Congress

Click here for part 2

Click here for part 3

For more information, check the website here: http://sapiensanonym.blogspot.com

These pioneers deserve more recognition for their work. I'll be reaching out to them to try their luck and share their knowledge on Steemit. Hopefully this community will be supportive of their efforts and reward them accordingly. This could turn into the first crowd-funded biohack!

What's Next

The possible applications might seem not seem so useful at this moment, but the technology is improving rapidly. Tim Cannon's Grindhouse Wetware have successfully created a form of echolocation. The bottlenose device takes in a large amount of data such as sonar or wife and translates it into a magnetic field which is then picked up by a magnetic implant in the finger. They also create LED chips that can be implanted beneath the skin. This might be the next step in body modification.

The main trends in cyborg revolution are in cybernetics. The field of sensory expansion and enhancements could create an entire new industry. If we could push our vision to see near infrared, we could see through fog and haze. Our blood flow would be visible by looking at us. A whole new level of human interaction would follow, as lying would become nearly impossible. It's hard to guess what kind of implication this kind of technology will have until we effectively try it.

If Kevin Warwick succeeds in his effort of creating a brain-to-brain connection, the entire field of communication changes. He would in essence create telepathy! Apart from Warwick's groundbreaking work, a number of startups are building implantable memory chips. They might be the answer to degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson. This is technology picked straight from William Gibson's novels!

Others are looking into exoskeletons as the answer to our transhuman needs. But it goes much further than that. Microbio-hackers are modifying the bacteria's in our body to change how we smell. How about strawberry-flavored sweat? They're working on it!

A new class war

The human population has always been divided into different categories and classes. The working class vs the ruling class. Rich vs poor, sick vs healthy. The educated versus the non-educated.

Does this technology create a whole new class war? The modified versus the non-modified. Human versus cyborg. Genetically engineered versus 'natural' human? Will these self-proclaimed cyborgs be seen as super-humans or sub-par humans? Who knows, we might all get state-sanctioned biochips in the future!

Biohacker resources and information:

http://mashable.com/2013/11/07/titan-arm-exoskeleton/#.lIR4sZb0gqV
http://www.livescience.com/40915-incredible-technology-exoskeleton-walking.html
http://cyborganthropology.com/Lepht_Anonym
https://sensebridge.net/projects/projects-overview/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-transhumanist-philosopher/201407/interview-transhumanist-biohacker-rich-lee
http://sapiensanonym.blogspot.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/8ca601f1-2d4f-412a-8c94-ad0b3497ac4e
http://biohack.me
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/biohackers-are-implanting-led-lights-under-their-skin

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