Neil Harbisson
Neil Harbisson
Neil Harbissonis a Catalan-raised, British-born avant-garde artist and cyborg activist based in New York. He is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull and for being officially recognized as a cyborg by a government. His antenna uses audible vibrations in his skull to report information to him. This includes measurements of electromagnetic radiation, phone calls, music, as well as video or images which are translated into sound. His wifi enabled...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionArtist
Date of Birth27 July 1982
It's strange that we create tech and then we apply it to machines, when we could apply it to ourselves. Cars can now detect if something is behind them, but we don't have this ability. Why are we applying such a simple sense to a car when we could apply it to ourselves?
Color is everywhere, so everything has changed. I still can't see color, but I can perceive it. I can experience it in a way that allows me to be a part of this reality, which I was excluded from before. Thanks to the eyeborg, I've made a career by combining music and art.
There's no legal protection for cyborgs. In 2010, I started the Cyborg Foundation to defend our rights. Cyborgs have been kicked out from several places because they are seen as a possible security threat. I've been kicked out from places such as Harrods, Casino Montecarlo, and many supermarkets.
The biggest challenge for cyborgs is to be socially accepted. Society needs to accept that there are people who wish to use technology as part of the body.
Kids are really inspired to not just apply senses to robots and machines, but to try them on themselves.
We should find inspiration in the senses that already exist and try to copy them and apply them to us. If we compare our senses to the senses of other animals and species that we don't have, we can get ideas for new abilities that we can adapt to humans by applying cybernetics to the body.
If we extend our senses, then, consequently, we will extend our knowledge. It's really very basic.
We need to get used to seeing humans with antennas sticking out of their heads.