Biohackers: Meet People Who May Intrigue Or Horrify You As They Enhance Their Human Bodies With Technology

God made us and gave us this body with its many abilities. For centuries gone by and centuries to come we will always believe that what has created in the form of our bodies is just pure magic with all those endless nerves carrying out information throughout the body, those amazing reproductive organs that give birth to a miracle called child, that unbelievable brain with its ever untapped power- God has given us so many things in a single body which makes us wonder every now and then. But there are people who are not satisfied with what they have got. With advent of technology they think that apart from biology our bodies should also include technology inside it. If you have never heard of the term “Biohackers” then let us tell you that biohackers are those people who experiment with enhancing the human body with technology.  This field is out of the league of science and mainstream disciplines and thrives as a raw exciting field inviting like-minded people to experiment.

You would not believe but there actually are people out there who carry out these technological enhancement operations without even the supervision of a GP or anaesthesia. They just have a friend nearby who will take care of them if things turn soar. The most common implants tried out till now are the radio frequency identification device (RFID). This is essentially the same technology as is used in contactless payment cards except that it’s packaged in a small tube about the size of a grain of rice.

This may horrify you but there are many companies who have entered this fray of injecting technology into people’s bodies. For example, in January 2015, it was reported that several hundred office workers in Sweden had been chipped that means they had implants placed by a tattoo artist; which enabled them to open doors and switch on the photocopiers.

Biohackers do not fear the infection or dangers of these implants; they take it as a challenge and keep searching for new kinds of implants. For example, software developer and biohacker Tim Cannon has a variety of implants, his latest being the ‘Northstar’, which lights up when a magnet is close by. Lepht Anonym plans to have a compass chip implanted near her left knee along with a power coil that can be charged externally.  Moon Ribas has a seismic sensor implanted in her elbow that allows her to feel earthquakes through vibrations. Meanwhile, Neil Harbisson, who is otherwise colour blind, has a camera which is attached to his skull. Different colours cause the frequency of vibrations to his skull to vary. As a result he has learned a very high degree of colour discrimination. And we should not forget the digital artist Stelarc, who has even grown an ear on his arm.
As revolting as it may sound to you or as innovative (the purview is entirely yours), biohacking may have certain benefits. For ex a neuro implant in brain was used recently in a therapeutic role to allow a paralysed individual to regain some control over his arm. Implants can also be used in future to enhance human memory. But as of now, this seems to be swinging ways, the good and the bad.

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