Two experts in information technology and artificial intelligence present to “Sky News Arabia” the stages of transforming the “cyborg” idea into reality, and whether it will benefit humanity or pose a threat to it.
Dreaming of superpowers
The term “cyborg” refers to a half-human, half-machine being made up of a mixture of organic, biological, electronic and mechanical components.
Anas Al-Najdawi, an expert in information technology and artificial intelligence, points to the most prominent company in the manufacture of this mixture, which is “Neuralink” for neurotechnology, which was founded by American billionaire Elon Musk .
The company is already working on the development of computer interfaces that support the human mind, connecting people to machines, and the goal of its projects is to increase human abilities in vision, perception and learning at “superhuman” levels.
The cyborg is among us.
In the opinion of information technology and artificial intelligence expert Salloum Al-Dahdah, the overlap that amounts to a “merger” between man and machine has already happened, and there is “cyborgs” who lived and still live among us.
Al-Dahdah attributes this to scientists’ use of “artificial intelligence-based robots” to replace certain body parts lost by humans, giving examples:
The use of ocular prostheses for blind people based on robotic software. The use of robotic prostheses to replace natural limbs.
The world’s first “cyborg”
The most prominent embodiment of the ‘cyborg’ idea is British scientist Peter Scott Morgan, who died in 2022, aged 64, after a 5-year battle with a rare neurological disease.
Al-Dahdah traces the process of his transformation saying:
In 2017, the British roboticist was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and had just two years to live. He underwent a series of complex operations, including the insertion of a feeding tube directly into his stomach, the catheterization of his bladder and other procedures to help him continue to live without complications resulting from his terminal illness. He underwent a laryngectomy to separate his esophagus and trachea to reduce the risk of fatal pneumonia, and was unable to speak afterwards. Before undergoing surgery, Peter recorded tens of thousands of words and sentences that he could compose with his eyes. He underwent laser eye surgery to improve his vision to 70cm, the distance between his face and a computer screen, which allowed him to remotely control a computer using eye tracking technology. He developed an “avatar”, which resembled his own face, and was designed to respond using artificially intelligent body language. Later, Peter announced that he had completed his full transition to “the world’s first full-fledged robot”, calling himself “Peter 2.0”.
next one in 20 years
As the two experts point out, more human-computer interaction can be achieved for several purposes:
Address disability issues and support the medical field. Developing the mental and physical abilities of human beings.
Due to developments in artificial intelligence technologies, many models of “cyborgs” may spread among us in the next 20 years, and in a few years, animals may merge with intelligent machines, and we we will have hybrid beings endowed with “superpowers”. according to Al-Najdawi.
Do intelligent machines rule the world?
Al-Dahdah enslaves this and says, “Intelligent machines have not and will not be able to rule the world, and only humans are able to control them.”
However, Al-Najdawi has fears about the future of humanity due to the “frightening” development of artificial intelligence technologies.
“If intelligent machines continue to evolve at the same rate, humans will be in danger, and they could lose control of these intelligent systems that can be learned and simulated, and whose capabilities far exceed humans,” according to Al- Najdawi.
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