IS THIS THE HUMAN OF TOMORROW?

HOW WIRES AND CIRCUITS ARE MINGLING WITH BLOOD VESSELS AND NERVES TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVOLUTION

-  SCOTT DUTFIELD

The world as we know it is on a one-way trajectory to a technological overhaul. With each year that passes, cybernetics and artificial intelligence are finding their way into every nook and cranny of society. Even the human body isn't exempt from this mechanical makeover: our smartphones have become an unintentional extension of our hands, while robotic limb enhancements and nanobot immunity are on the horizon.

But why would we let this technology take over our physiology?

The most common reason is to replicate an ability that has been lost or was missing at birth. Prosthetics are the best example of this, helping people regain motor functionality and movement. Since the early 1800s, engineers have created mechanical devices to mimic the function of missing limbs or appendages. But today some of the most advanced prosthetics in the world can tap into the signals zipping around the body's nervous system, allowing the user to control their prosthetic limb by will alone. Many battery-powered prosthetics can use the electrical signals of existing muscles to operate robotic fingers and arms.

They’re known as myoelectric prostheses, and they depend upon a series of electrodes in the socket of the device that make contact with the skin and muscle of the residual limb. When the wearer contracts the muscles involved in a certain action, such as grasping individual fingers, bending an elbow or rotating the wrist, the device can distinguish the electrical signal for each action and carry them out.