Submitted in the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

A

SEMINAR REPORT

ON

“CYBORGS”

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

OF DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY FROM

RAJASTHAN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, KOTA

IN COMPUTER SCIENCE ENGINEERING

SESSION-2010-2011

Submitted to - Submitted By –Mr.Sunil Dhankhar Parul Gupta

(HOD CE Dept.) (8th Semester)

RAJASTHAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FOR WOMEN
BHAKROTA, JAIPUR (RAJASTHAN)

CERTIFICATE

This to certify that PARUL GUPTA , student of B.TECH.(Computer Engineering) final year of RAJASTHAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FOR WOMEN, Jaipur(Rajasthan)has successfully completed her seminar report on “CYBORGS”.

Mr. Sunil Dhankhar

(H.O.D., C.S. Dept.)

PREFACE

I,Parul Gupta student of 4th year,Computer Engineering, has completed my seminar report at RCEW labs, working under Mr. V.S. Tamra. I have gained knowledge about cyborgs and its origin.

CYBORGS is hard to crack a concept and it is very difficult to acquire complete knowledge about it in such a short span. I have tried to get maximum knowledge about designing and main concepts involved there in. I tried to be honest with my efforts and sincerely hope that it produces the desired results.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In making this Seminar Presentation successful I have been benefited from the help and support of my guide. My guide has given me his precious time and effort freely to make this Seminar Presentation accurate and knowledge conveyable. So for this I would like to thank. “Mr. SUNIL DHANKHAR” for providing me the opportunity to work on my topic of seminar “CYBORGS” which is the emerging technology,and he also shared his thoughts and opinion to the upbringing of my knowledge in this topic.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge “Mr. V. S. TAMRA” our Seminar Co-coordinator for all his guidance and co-operation.

Last but not the least; I thank my teacher, friends and my family members for their constant encouragement and their thoughts which actually gave me a reason to present my seminar on this future technology.

Parul Gupta

C.S.E.

07ERWCS046

ABSTRACT

Cyborgs-cybernetic organisms, hybrids of humans and machines, have pervaded everyday life, the military, popular culture, and the academic world .Cyborgs are ongoing becomings of a doubly “in-between” temporality of humans and machines. Materially made from components of both sorts of beings, cyborgs gain increasing function through an interweaving in which each alters the other, from the level of “neural plasticity” to software updates to emotional breakthroughs of which both are a part. One sort of temporal in-between is of the progressive unfolding of a deepening becoming as “not-one-not-two” and the other is a “doubling back” of time into itself in which moments that were once disparate are conjoined or enjambed.

There are two senses of the cyborg which have been discussed by those interested in the human/machine in-between. The first and more traditional sense of the case of organic beings who are physically and functionally united with mechanized beings to constitute what some consider “true” cyborgs. The second sense of “cyborg” claims that we have all become cyborgs in the sense of becoming enfolded within a world in which machines not only perform many of our key actions but also make possible how we know ourselves, expressourselves, modify our intentions, and open new avenues for who we might become.

"Cyborg" is a science-fictional shorting of "cybernetic organism". The idea is that, in the near future, we may have more and more artificial body parts - arms, legs, hearts, eyes - and digital computing and communication supplements. The logical conclusion is that one might become a brain in a wholly artificial body. And the step after that is to replace your meat brain by a computer brain.

CONTENTS

1. LIST OF FIGURES

2. LITERATURE SURVEY

3. INTRODUCTION TO CYBORGS

• BASICS
• ORIGIN
• DEFINITIONS
• KINDS OF CYBORG ENTITIES
• INDIVIDUAL CYBORGS / SOCIAL CYBORGS
• CYBORGS PROLIFERATION IN SOCIETY
• POSITIVE ARGUMENTS
• NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
• ARGUMENTS ON BALANCE
• IMPLICATIONS
• CHALLENGES

4. FUTURE SCOPE

5. CONCLUSION

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

7. CHECKLIST

LIST OF FIGURES

1.EXAMPLE OF CYBORG 13

2.PROSTHESIS 16

3.ORTHOTICS 17

4.INDIVIDUAL CYBORG 21

5.CYBORG IN MEDICINE 23

6.CYBORG IN MILITARY 24

LITERATURE SURVEY

Remarkably, there appear to be very few publications that address the topic of cyborg rights in the instrumentalist manner being attempted here. There is a sci-fi literature (which is mostly about cyborgs as threats to mankind), a speculative literature (cyborg as posthuman), and a derivative media criticism literature.

Few papers have been located, however, that examine cyborgs as they exist at present and appear likely to increasingly exist in the near future, and consider rights as they apply to augmented human beings. See, however, questions asked in the final paragraph of Warwick (2003) and in a use case scenario in FIDIS (2008), and the tentative 'Cyborg Bill of Rights' suggested in Gray (2001), but also the argument in Levy (2003) to the effect that the challenges arising from cyborgisation are not radical.

In the absence of an established body of theory and evidence, the approach adopted in the present paper is to investigate dimensions of the issues through case studies of various cyborgs operating in various contexts. In order to ensure richness of material, the set intentionally includes a diversity of prostheses, of orthoses, and of contexts.

(1) Access to Quality-of-Life Exo-Prostheses

The assistance of vision through the use of shaped glass dates back at least two thousand years, of lenses at least one thousand years, of spectacles at least 600-700 years, and of contact lenses 500 years in principle and 200 years in practice. An emergent right to have a pair of spectacles to correct sight can be detected in health and welfare systems that provide them on a cost-less or heavily subsidised basis. Similar developments exist in relation to hearing-aids.

Particularly in the USA and the UK, military service personnel returning from war-zones have better access to opportunities for replacement limbs than, for example, victims of industrial and traffic accidents. A recent review of research work on neural control of artificial arms funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is in (Adee 2009). Another group that has superior access to expensive, new treatments is the aging rich. A ready justification for this is that the research and experimentation needed demands funding, and only the rich and the government can provide it.

By mid-century, it is conceivable that shoulder reconstructions, hip-joint replacements and knee replacements could have become a legitimate expectation for all who need them, rather than the expensive option for the war-maimed and the well-off and/or well-insured that they generally are at present.

(2) Access to Matter-of-Life-and-Death Exo-Prostheses

Spectacles and hearing-aids recover impaired senses, and hence enhance quality of life. Even wheelchairs and replacement limbs can be argued to be facilities affecting quality-of-life rather than survival. A range of prostheses are likely to be associated not merely with improved quality of life but also increased life expectancy. Examples include stents, pacemakers, renal dialysis and artificial hearts and kidneys.

Debate can reasonably be anticipated as to whether patriotism and financial wealth should be such dominant factors in determining the priority of allocation of quality-of-life but especially matter-of-life-and-death prostheses.

(3) Cyborgs in Public Places

Some sight-impaired people depend on guide dogs, and many mobility-impaired people depend on a walking-stick, or access to their own custom-designed wheelchair. Contention has arisen where such external prostheses have been banned from premises, e.g. dogs from coffee lounges, for health reasons. In some circumstances, a ban on the use of a personal wheelchair within particular premises - such as an airport or an aeroplane - represents a denial of access to important services, and harms the principle of equality of rights for the impaired. A variety of new external prostheses may create further challenges. For example, portable renal dialysis machines would demand both space and power.

Some exo- and endo-prostheses have also already given rise to difficulties, such as artificial hips made of steel and pacemakers, which may be incompatible with airport security equipment. The prospect also exists of exo- and endo-orthoses that represent security threats.

(4) Exo- and Endo-Orthoses for Location and Tracking

Anklets with embedded chips to facilitate detection of non-compliance with movement restrictions were first officially sanctioned in 1983, in New Mexico. Anklets have since been applied in a variety of circumstances, not only to prisoners, but to parolees as a condition of parole, and even to remandees (who have yet to be convicted of an offence, and may well never be). It represents an extension of the prison beyond the prison walls and reduces costs to the state. There is accordingly an incentive to extend it to further categories, particularly recidivist criminals and detested (ex-?)criminals (e.g. those who have completed their sentences for child sex offences), but also dementia sufferers, comatose patients and perhaps other kinds of patients as well. Generally, an anklet is a form of overt involuntary exo-orthosis.

Chips have been implanted in livestock and pets since abut 1990. Chips have been offered for implantation in humans since about 1998, first in tooth-enamel and then in soft tissue. There have been a number of reported instances of chips being implanted in humans (Masters & Michael 2006), although to date no reliable reference has been located for them being imposed involuntarily. A chip-implant is a form of endo-orthosis, and may be voluntary, overt involuntary, or even covert involuntary in nature.

Like other endo-prostheses and endo-orthoses, the chip-implantation process may give rise to infection, it may be rejected by the body, and it may interfere with tissue, organs or bodily functions (CEJA-AMA 2007, Foster & Jaeger 2007). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided the Verichip for implantation in 2004, some years after it had first been implanted in humans. The decision was widely but misleadingly reported as being US government approval for the conduct of chip-implantation in humans.

(5) Handicapped Sports

Many categories of handicapped sportspeople, particularly those participating in athletics and swimming, compete against others with similar disabilities and/or levels of disability. Commonly, the handicapped are protected from the prosthetes, and both the handicapped and prosthetes are protected from the able-bodied, e.g. by segregation into separate events or at least categories.

Wheelchair racers compete separately from the able-bodied as well. However, they go faster than runners. In the case of the New York Marathon, for example, the winner of the wheelchair event is about 35% faster than the winner of the foot-race. Hence segregation into separate events works the other way around, protecting the able-bodied from the orthots. The potential exists for the able-bodied to be precluded from competing in wheelchair events, or to be permitted to compete, and even for them to demand the right to do so.

A particular case of sports orthosis was drawn to attention in the presentation accompanying Clarke (2005a), in Hood (2005a and (2005b) and in some other media outlets around that time. Oscar Pistorius is a South African athlete, who competes in 200m and 400m events. In 2005, it was speculated that, if he continued his improvement, he would qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games, and by 2012 could be at least a semi-finalist. Oscar was born without lower legs, and has artificial legs that include carbon fibre blades.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) determined that Pistorius' prosthetics "should be considered as technical aids which give him an advantage over other athletes not using them" (Robinson 2008). They accordingly banned him from competing against able-bodied athletes at the 2008 Olympics. This was based on an amendment to their rules, passed the previous year, that precludes use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device".

Pistorius challenged the ruling, and won, on the basis that the IAAF had failed to show that the legs gave him sufficient advantage (i.e. that the exo-prostheses were in fact exo-orthoses). Due to an injury-plagued preparation, however, he missed the qualifying standard by 0.70 seconds and did not satisfy the criteria for selection for his national team.

A media report has subsequently suggested that the IAAF may now have the required evidence (SD 2009), and hence may now succeed in banning double-amputees using such devices in able-bodied events. Ironically, the brand-name of the legs Pistorius uses is 'Cheetah' - doubtless intended to imply speed, but perhaps now to be interpreted as an admission that they provide an unfair advantage to orthots over the able-bodied athletes.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION TO CYBORGS

BASICS

A cyborg, also known as a cyberneticorganism, is a being with both biological and artificial (e.g. electronic, mechanical or robotic) parts. The cyborg is often seen today merely as an organism that has enhanced abilities due to technology,but this perhaps oversimplifies the category of feedback.

AN EXAMPLE OF CYBORG

Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy. Fictional cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical or as almost indistinguishable from humans. Cyborgs in fiction often play up a human contempt for over-dependence on technology, particularly when used for war, and when used in ways that seem to threaten free will. Cyborgs are also often portrayed with physical or mental abilities far exceeding a human counterpart (military forms may have inbuilt weapons, among other things).

Real (as opposed to fictional) cyborgs are more frequently people who use cybernetic technology to repair or overcome the physical and mental constraints of their bodies. While cyborgs are commonly thought of as mammals, they might conceivably be any kind of organism.

ORIGIN OF CYBORGS

The term 'cyborg' is a contraction of 'cybernetic organism', and entered the language in the early 1960s. The term 'cybernetics' was coined by Norbert Wiener in 1948. It referred to the then-new notion of controlling human-designed processes through feedback and response, in ways similar to those evident in natural organisms (Wiener 1948, 1949). He contrived the word from the Greek word for 'steersman'.

The origin of the contraction 'cyborg' is commonly attributed to two US research scientists, who used it to refer to an enhanced human being who could survive in extraterrestrial environments, or, in their own words "the exogenously extended organizational complex functioning as an integrated homeostatic system unconsciously" (Clynes & Kline 1960).

More generally, a cyborg is a human with whom mechanical and/or electronic parts have been integrated. Driven by feature films that depict imaginings of sci-fi authors, popular culture envisages a cyborg as necessarily having functionality that has been extended beyond that of a normal human being. Indeed, the OED adopts that element of Clynes & Kline (1960). Although one definition is "an integrated man-machine system", the other is "a person whose physical tolerances or capabilities are extended beyond normal humanlimitations by a machine or other external agency that modifies the body's functioning" (emphasis added). For the purposes of this analysis, however, it is necessary to distinguish enhancements from more mundane, but highly valuable interventions.

Also in popular culture, a cyborg's enhancements are physically inserted into the person. This paper will, however, also encompass circumstances in which this condition is not satisfied. Consideration has also been given to the notion of 'bionic implants'. The concept is, however, largely confined to entertainment arena, as a result of a 1973 novel called 'Cyborg', which gave rise to television series called 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Bionic Woman' - who had 'bionic' eyes, legs and arms.

DEFINITION

1.PROSTHETICS

The OED defines a prosthesis or prosthetic as "[a] replacement [for] defective or absent parts of the body [in the form of] artificial substitutes". Its use in this manner is traced to 1706.

A more appropriate definiton for a prosthetic may be an artefact thatprovides the body with previously missing or overcomes defective functionality.This definition is narrower than the OED, in that it requires the artefact to enable the performance of a function, and thereby excludes merely cosmetic or ornamental artefects such as glass eyes and breast implants.

A prosthesis may have various relationships with the human body, and hence the following categories are usefully distinguished:

• External Prosthesis. This is a prosthesis separate from the human body, but connected to it, or interfaced with it. Examples include spectacles, walking sticks and crutches, but also renal dialysis and heart-lung machines

1. Exo-Prosthesis. This is a prosthesis on an outer extremity of the human body and effectively integrated with it. Examples include contact lenses, artificial hands, arms and legs
2. Endo-Prosthesis. This is a prosthesis internal to the human body and effectively integrated with it. Examples include artificial hips and knees, stents, pacemakers, cochlear impants and implanted lenses .

2.ORTHOTICS

The OED defines an orthosis or orthotic as "An external orthopaedic appliance or apparatus, such as a brace or splint, that serves to support, assist the function of, or prevent movement in a body part such as a limb or the spine". A more expansive definition of orthosis is appropriate to the present purpose, as an artefact that supplements or extends a human's body, or a human's capabilities.