How I was turned into a ‘human cyborg’ by having a microchip implanted under my SKIN
Sun reporter bravely tests out technology that's set to change the world. But would you let a doctor put a chip into your body?
YOU might think cyborgs belong in the movies, but this science fiction technology is now becoming a reality.
Forget eyeballs which shoot laser beams or shiny metal limbs, humans are now enhancing their physical bodies in ways that are often very difficult to spot.
That bloke standing next to you at the bus stop might have had laser eye surgery so he can ditch his glasses.
The woman sat next to you could be hiding an implant under the skin which slowly releases hormones to stop her from getting pregnant.
Nans and granddads across the nation come installed with cutting-edge technology installed just to boost their hearing and vision seeing or help them walk with comfort.
We’re preparing ourselves for the next form of evolution in which humans will merge with artificial intelligence, becoming one with computers.
At least that’s the belief of Dr Patrick Kramer, chief cyborg officer at Digiwell, a company that claims to be dedicated to "upgrading humans”.
The Sun Online travelled to Berlin to meet chief Dr Kramer and see what he had to offer when it comes to upgrading humans.
The Bristol-educated German became interested in chipping humans during his work at IBM, the American tech giant responsible for designing some of the first commercial computers.
Plucking Dr Kramer fresh from a German morning telly appearance in Berlin, I grabbed a table for us to sit down so I could see what it really felt like to get chipped.
Just like a 2am Tinder date, it was all over very quickly.
After a quick disinfectant spritz, Dr Kramer proceeded to inject the chip into my hand in a relatively pain-free procedure.
A plaster went on straight away, but just ten minutes later I could already tap my phone over my hand and receive a pop-up which showed all my contact information, which I filled in using an app.
After three weeks of bruising, all that’s left to remember the ordeal is a tiny scab where the needle went in, and a blue-ish tinge below the thumb.
All my chip can do is hold information, which transmits to devices that have near field communication (NFC) switched on.
It’s yet to have proven useful, but if I were able to unlock my door or use it to buy my lunch like a contactless card it really would be life-changing for the forgetful.
Now I'm a fully fledged human cyborg, there's not much different apart from a weird wriggly lump that people turn their noses up at when I offer them a feel.
Far from revolutionising my life, it's done little more than made my mum squirm.
What is an RFID chip and what did I put on mine?
My RFID chip stores a small bit of information of my choosing.
If someone has NFC turned on in their phone (you can find this under settings), they can tap it on my hand and my contact information pops up.
I have an app that will let me edit what info is stored on the chip.
So I could store a picture, or memorable information.
Perhaps in the future, it will work as a payment chip.
But if I wanted a chip to unlock a door, I would have to get another one installed.
There isn't a one size fits all chip.
Nobody can track or steal anything, but they can "steal" it if they tap their phone on my hand.
What have I got on mine? My name, my email address, my phone number and my Twitter handle - so I'll never have to buy a business card again.
But Dr Kramer believes this is just a tiny step in a new phase of evolution in which humans will one day become "transspecies".
He reckons within 60 years we will see the rise of biotech where you can add features to your body by printing them on a device and inserting it into your body as biological tissue.
“It won’t be an implant anymore because it’s your own DNA,” he says.
He's not alone in his seemingly bonkers predictions.
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has backed Neuralink, a company that hopes to merge the human brain with a computer and the US government wants to plug implants into human brains to help us communicate telepathically.
Even Stephen Hawking, who uses a computer to communicate, has said it’s possible to .
Right now, technology cannot compute fast enough to keep up with our own super-smart lobes, but many believe an artificial brain that can compete with our own is around the corner thanks to advances in computing.
It will be a long time before we bow down to our artificially intelligent overlords.
But wannabe superhumans are already using various implants and biotech gizmos to upgrade themselves before that day comes.
After spending time in IBM’s research labs Dr Kramer realised the idea of implanting humans with chips that could help make everyday life easier would resonate with a younger generation and made it his core mission to get the youth of today injecting tiny bits of plastic into their limbs.
“Like those in the fifteenth century who couldn’t picture a computer, it’s impossible for people to imagine or understand how we will all be living as cyborgs,” he tells The Sun Online.
“We’ll eventually move into a phase of humanity where technology and biology merge.”
This technology is not just reserved for “biohackers” working in labs or “transhumanists” fiddling with their bodies: there are several high-profile upgraded humans.
One is Neil Harbisson, 33, a “cyborg activist” best known for his antenna implant that allows him to hear colours.
The Brit-born New Yorker, who was raised in Spain, suffers from colour blindness that means everything appears in shades of grey.
The music grad created a sensor that could translate colours into sound frequencies and after memorising each sound decided to implant the device onto his head.
The antenna vibrates on his skull so he can detect what colours are in front of him.
It comes with a Bluetooth implant that allows him to connect to the web, receiving colours from satellites and smartphones.
Harbisson was forced to send doctors’ notes to force UK passport officials to renew his ID when they refused to greenlight a picture including the Angler fish-style contraption.
There’s also Rich Lee, a biohacker who has created a vibrator implant dubbed “Lovetron 9000” which buzzes just above a man’s pubic bone.
Artist Moon Ribas has developed the Seismic Sense, an online sensor that is implanted in her arms and allows her to feel earthquakes.
British high-street piercing studios are now offering magnetic implants which allow people to sense magnetic and electric fields that are completely invisible to everyone else, allowing you to work out if a wire is live or dead.
But it might be the middle-aged that could benefit.
Because truthfully, the most innovative aspect of implants is in their seemingly boring, practical applications.
Implants aren't just about giving yourself superhuman senses, they are designed to make your life easier, Dr Kramer explains.
Few people in the modern world leave the house without their keys, phone or wallet.
But these are the things that human implants could replace.
“I’ve replaced my keys with a chip, and payments will come next,” Dr Kramer says.
He is in talks with MasterCard already, so that someday soon we could be tapping our hands on the contactless machine.
But there’s more, you can already store information like a business card, health insurance and emergency information on them.
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But pioneers beware.
I can't help recalling the charming Paolo Macchiarini, a surgeon who has been dubbed a “con man” following a fall from medical grace.after he revealed “breakthrough” stem cell implants that could be printed.
Dr Macchiarini, who stars in a disturbing documentary "The downfall of a surgeon", was lauded when he revealed “breakthrough” stem cell implants that could be printed in the early noughties.
He had the cunning idea to print plastic windpipes and after stewing them in stem cells of his patients, who would implant them into their throats as a replacement.
But the science didn't add up.
Almost all of the 17 patients he installed windpipes into are now dead.
The implants either didn't take, caused huge infections or collapsed within the patient's throat, causing his victims a painful demise.
It begs the question, technology is certainly moving toward advanced human implants, but do you want to be the guinea pig?
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