The Body Electric An Anatomy Of The New Bionic Senses [Hardcover]

The publication of James Geary's The Body Electric offers evidence that is becoming ever more familiar--and ever more comfortable--with the idea that we live cybernetic lives. We are born in intensive care, and we will die there. We mend our broken hearts with artificial valves; we swallow complex chemical machinery to brush away the difficulties of our lives.

To some degree, then, we read Geary's book purely for comfort: for the thought that, as our own senses begin to fail, cybernetic senses are already being developed that can aid or replace them. As far as that goes, Geary's take on medical technology is entertaining, enthusiastic and free of bombast. But his shop of wonders is much more than a window display. It's informed throughout by philosophical concerns that would (and, if Geary's of a mind, probably should) make books in themselves. There is, for example, his overarching awareness that we are very small, in a very big universe. As such, we can only perceive a tiny fraction of what's out there. When we look at the real world, it's more accurate to say that we're looking at a scale model, filtered by our brains from out of the spew of sensory data with which the world bombards us. This being the case, what are the ethical consequences if we build machines that further filter--or filter in a different way--our experience of the world?

The Body Electric describes wonders enough to satisfy the most jaded technocrat, but big questions are never far below the surface.--Simon Ings

'A fascinating account of a nascent revolution'

'A clear and readable report . . . James Geary tells an exciting story'

The science behind the remarkable convergence of people and computers.

Marie, a 63-year-old Belgian woman, has been totally blind since the age of 57. But now, thanks to electrodes implanted around her right optic nerve, she can see lights, shapes and colours again. A motorcycle accident in 1993 left Brian Holgersen, a 30-year-old Dane, paralysed from the neck down. But he can now hold a cup, lift a fork and grasp a pen thanks to advanced electronics embedded in his right arm and hand. Marie and Brian are two of a handful of people around the world who have had computer chips implanted in their bodies to extend, enhance or repair their senses. This remarkable convergence of biology and technology is being brought about by melding advanced computers with the human nervous system. This same technology might also one day provide us with bionic senses, such as the ability to see infrared radiation or feel objects at a distance. By linking neurons in the brain directly to silicon chips, scientists are also exploring the possibility of creating virtual eyes, ears and limbs on the Web and allowing people to control appliances by thought alone. Machines are getting silicon senses too. Researchers are endowing computers with the ability to see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Once a computer has its own sensorium, it might at some point learn to think. Drawing on fields as diverse as artificial intelligence and biology, The Body Electric provides an exciting synthesis of the people and technology making this convergence possible, while addressing the psychological, social and philosophical implications of these startling developments. Are you any less 'you' after a bionic implant? If all our senses are electronically enhanced, how will we tell the difference between virtual reality and the actual world? How can privacy be ensured when computers are watching and listening to everything we do and say?

James Geary is an editor at TIME magazine. He lives in London with his wife and two sons.