CYBORGS

CYBORGS. A cybernetic organism, or cyborg, is the melding of man and machine and ranges in scope from creating computers that have human attributes, such as independent thinking or the ability to learn, to the artificial heart, pacemaker, and a variety of synthetic implants. Cyborg advocates hypothesize that in the future mankind will use science and technology to transform into a virtually immortal being—still human, but with machine parts that perfect natural organs, muscle fiber, and bone.

In modern society, cyborgs have taken on a new meaning, particularly as computers have become more powerful and ubiquitous. While religious and ethical questions about cyborgs remain, people no longer fear machines that outthink, outperform, and are physically more powerful than humans. Science fiction, movies, and television shows portraying the cyborg-driven future have not only dispelled fear, but actually set expectations for further advances in providing computers with human attributes and vice versa for the betterment of both.

Since machines, such as pacemakers and kidney dialysis units, keep people alive, many argue that the world is already a cyborg community. Given the pace of technological development, there is little doubt that the human/cyborg melding will proceed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gray, Chris Hables, ed. The Cyborg Handbook. New York: Rout-ledge, 1996.

———. Cyborg Citizen: Politics in the Posthuman Age. New York: Routledge, 2001.

Messina, Lynn, ed. Biotechnology. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000.

Rorvik, David M. As Man Becomes Machine: The Evolution of the Cyborg. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1971.

Bob Batchelor

See also Computers and Computer Industry; Transplantsand Organ Donation.