Telling Stories writing assignment 4.11.21

Telling Stories

The story of research, of a google search “Cyborg leg in man” and “Who was the first human cyborg?”

Hugh Herr introduced himself as a professor from MIT who built bionic legs that augment human walking and running. He then proceeded to tell a brief story about how he lost his legs in a climbing accident, which prompted him to become a master in biomechanics, giving himself new limbs and now has 24 sensors, six microprocessors and muscle-tendon-like actuators. Although Herr has bionic legs, he does not consider himself a cyborg as he cannot feel his new legs and believes they need to be part of him, part of self, not separate tools for his body but extensions integrated through his nervous system with a two-way communication to his brain.

Herr’s friend Jim Ewing, also the casualty of a climbing accident reached out for the help of Herr’s Cyborg team who took their bionic limbs to the next level: to create a proprioceptive foot that would be aware of its position and movement with a direct link to the brain through myoneural transmission. The rebuilding of Ewing’s foot/ankle prosthetic was a success, and he is now able to feel the sensations of his foot through the agonist-antagonist myoneural interface which reconnected the neural link between Ewings's ankle-foot muscles and his brain. Using this technology, Ewing returned to the Cayman Islands, the site of his accident, rebuilt as a cyborg to climb skyward once again.

Herr believes that by designing the biological body to better communicate with the built design world, humanity will end disability in this 21st century.

Jim Ewing: the first cyborg rock climber.

This was in 2018 but was Ewing the first Human Cyborg? Google seems slightly confused as to who this may be. Twenty years before Ewing a silicon chip transponder was implanted into the forearm of British scientist, Professor Kevin Warwick which according to the BBC makes him the first human cyborg.

Or perhaps it was Emily Borghard ‘11 who in 2008 became the first human cyborg (according to Geneseoscene) with a neurostimulator — a tiny device that is surgically implanted inside the skull. Roughly the size of a flash drive, the stimulator tracks brain activity. Two probes send a small shock when it detects the antecedents of a seizure to prevent it from occurring.

Or maybe according to DevonLive, it’s Peter Scott-Morgan who in 2019 completed his many operations to enhance his body to be able to survive the onslaught of Motor Neuron Disease which would render most of his body’s muscles dysfunctional.

My favourite must be the claim by the British Government that in 2004 they recognised artist Neil Harbisson as the first human cyborg as he successfully argued that he be allowed to wear what Neil calls the ‘eyeborg’, a small device that transforms light waves into sounds to allow him to perceive colour, in his passport photo, as this was a part of him. Neil suffers with achromatopsia which means he can only see in black and white.

The eyeborg connects via a chip on the back of his head.

Neil has gone on to create The Cyborg Foundation who are an online platform for the research, development and promotion of projects related to the creation of new senses and perceptions by applying technology to the human body. Their mission is to help people become cyborgs, promote cyborg art and defend cyborg rights.