[LINK] SMH: 'All eyes and ears on march of the cyborgs'

[Roger Clarke]

All eyes and ears on march of the cyborgs
DEBORAH SMITH SCIENCE EDITOR
The Sydney Morning Herald
June 5, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/all-eyes-and-ears-on-march-of-the-cyborgs-20100604-xklv.html

Also on the Brisbane Times site:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/all-eyes-and-ears-on-march-of-the-cyborgs-20100604-xklv.html

''THE first generation of cyborgs is alive, well, [and] walking among 
us,'' says Roger Clarke, a visiting professor at the school of 
computer science at the Australian National University.

Heart pacemakers and mechanical hands have been the ''leading wave'' 
in a rapid process of cyborgisation - the development of high-tech 
implants and prostheses that will benefit many people but will also 
raise new issues for society, Professor Clarke said.

Already the deaf can hear with cochlear implants. Deep brain implants 
that alleviate the disabling tremors of Parkinson's disease are also 
in use.

On the horizon are bionic eyes to let the blind see, and muscle 
implants that could allow paraplegics to stand and even walk, said 
Rob Shepherd, director of the Bionic Ear Institute and professor of 
medical bionics at the University of Melbourne.

''Brain-machine interfaces'' that will let quadriplegic patients 
control devices with their mind are also being tested in the US. And 
in Australia, researchers are developing brain implants that can 
detect the onset of epileptic seizures and suppress them. They are 
also exploring new electrically conducting plastics that could 
stimulate and guide nerve fibres to repair spinal cords.'

'The field of medical bionics is rapidly expanding,'' Professor 
Shepherd said. ''The thing we get excited about is that Australia is 
at the forefront.''

Technologies developed here for pacemakers and cochlear implants can 
be transferred to many conditions where nerves have been damaged and 
need to be stimulated, he said.
They include hermetic sealing of implants so they are not damaged by 
body fluids, interfaces between living tissue and man-made materials, 
and wireless transmission of signals.

Professor Clarke, of Xamax Consultancy, who will be a key speaker at 
a conference on technology and society in Wollongong this week, said 
researchers also had an obligation to raise an urgent alert about the 
possible impacts of their work.

''Cyborgisation will give rise to demands for new rights,'' he said, 
such as using devices to enhance, not just restore function.

The risk of inequitable access to beneficial developments was high, 
as was a possible backlash against devices regarded as unnatural or 
potentially harmful. Dr Greg Adamson, the Australia chairman of the 
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Society on the 
Social Implications of Technology, said medical implants to monitor 
bodily functions would also raise issues of privacy and questions 
about who owned the information generated.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University