Who is a cyborg? The secret of immortality: when people become cyborgs

Many human casualties are associated with technological progress. Don't believe me? Look at the statistics: the number of deaths from car accidents is significantly higher than the number of deaths from falls from horses. Modern man is surrounded on all sides by killer machines: from hair dryers in the bathroom to televisions that can explode.

Science fiction writers have long ago solved this problem: in order not to be afraid of machines, you yourself need to become an automaton. By the way, a cyborg man may well become a reality soon. After all, progress does not stand still. Cyborg - who is this anyway? Let's figure it out.

They are among us

So, for many, a cyborg is RoboCop, the Terminator and other heroes from the screen. Let's remember the brightest and most iconic of them.

T800). This well-known cyborg was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. His famous “I’ll be back” and “Hasta la vista, baby” are known to everyone, even those who have never watched the saga. The film was a huge success, so the authors made more than one sequel. And even in 2015, another part of “Terminator” is planned.

Robocop is a cyborg policeman. The script was produced by the OCP company, and was based on police department officer Alex Murphy. The film was filmed in 1987, and a remake was released in 2014.

Another picture that received universal recognition is “Universal Soldier”: Van Damme’s cyborg confronts Lundgren’s cyborg.

But still, the very first real cyber-man in the movies was not the Terminator or RoboCop, as you might think, but a snuffling and whistling character from Star Wars. This is Anakin Skywalker, or rather what is left of him, enclosed in a special life-support suit. It was he who paved the way for all the other “brothers” in big cinema. The cult series Doctor Who also talks about the uprising of cyborgs who came from the 10th planet solar system.

However, cinema is not the only arena for cyber people. them in large quantities can be found in the world of fighting games (computer games) - “Mortal Kombat”, “Soul Calibur” and others. Also today, all kinds of construction sets, toys, figurines, etc. are very popular. For example, Lego cyborgs.

Terminology

Let's understand the term. In the generally accepted understanding, a cyborg is a bionic person, i.e. a creature with a mechanical body. This term appeared sometime in the early 60s. The word "cyborg" contains two concepts. The first - the second - organism (organism). This term means a "living organism" that has been improved by special mechanical devices.

Technological progress has its own peculiarity: the desire for minimalism. Thus, large landline phones have turned into small mobile phones that we carry with us every day. Players, watches, phones, tablets - today a person without them is like without hands. Thus, man and technology evolve together. And it is quite possible that sooner or later this will be the beginning for real cyborgs.

Fake ones, by the way, already exist today. These are people who wear prosthetics, pacemakers, titanium plates on bones, hearing aids, contact lenses and ceramic teeth, after all. Now imagine that somewhere there is a person who has all this installed at the same time. Isn't it a cyborg?

Today such a person is more likely a disabled person than a screen super hero. For now, implanted devices only compensate for shortcomings, but over time the situation will change. This may lead to increased physical capabilities person.

Robot or cyborg

Cyborg - who is this? A living organism in which mechanical devices are built? Or a robot containing biological components? Initially, a cyborg was a person who was on the verge of dying. All mechanical devices served as a replacement for what he lacked due to certain circumstances. Technical implants of arms, legs, internal organs etc. Today, even purebred robots who have never even been human before have come to be called cyborgs. For example, terminators from the saga of the same name. But still this is wrong.

Terminators (T800, for example) and others like them are machines, robots. Cyborgs are, first of all, people, living biological beings. Therefore, calling the Terminator a cyborg is not correct. The word “android” would be more appropriate here.

Limbs

Over the past 50 years, humanity has made great progress in the field of organics. Today it is possible to replace up to 60% of the human body. The highest achievements are in the field of creating artificial limbs. An innovation was the creation of the Touch i-Limb by the company. This device is able to read muscle signals from the remaining limb and interpret the movements that the person is trying to make.

The most breakthrough invention is considered to be an artificial limb presented by the Defense Technology Agency (DARPA). The peculiarity of this prosthesis is that you can control it mentally! The device connects to muscle tissue, thereby reading brain impulses. These, of course, are not the only developments in this area. But they all have one common big minus: high cost and difficulty in operation.

Bones

On this moment This is the simplest replacement for anything in the body. Most often, artificial bones are made from titanium. However, since 3D printing has become widely used, high-precision plastic elements have also been used.

Developments are underway to strengthen the skeleton. Scientists are developing a new technology: reinforcing a specific bone using titanium powder and polyurethane foam. This should allow the porous structure of the implant to acquire bone tissue, which in turn will lead to strengthening of the skeleton. Until then, will these developments be able to be successfully completed and find practical use, but the idea is worthwhile.

Organs

It is much more difficult to reproduce artificially than bones or limbs. However, progress does not stand still here either. Medicine has advanced the furthest in the field of creating an artificial heart. And this technology is getting better every day. Scientists predict the rapid creation of kidneys. There are successes in working with the liver. However, these are just developments for now.

Studies of the intestines, bladder, lymphatic system, spleen and gall bladder are planned soon. What about the most important and complex organ of the human body?

Brain

This is perhaps the most difficult task. There are two stages here. The first is the creation of artificial intelligence. The second is a reproduction of the structure of the brain itself. Engineers using computer technology tirelessly trying to replicate the human thinking organ. However, they are far from the brain. For example, the Spaun software simulator projected in 2.5 hours what our main organ reproduces in 1 second. Another project called SyNAPSE can simulate about 530 billion neurons, making it 1,500 times smaller than the brain.

However, creating a neural network is not everything. She must be made to “think.” Those. create artificial intelligence. At this stage it is still empty. Apple has made some small progress - the so-called Siri. But that's all. In general, many scientists doubt that at this stage of development humanity is capable of anything like that.

Cyborg - is it real?

So, how close is humanity to creating a true cyborg with a living brain and a metal body? The answer can be this: in the next twenty years this is hardly technologically possible.

There is an opinion that in the future there may be cyborgs with a body artificially grown in a laboratory, rather than a metal one. Such "people" will have enhanced abilities. But what should they be called then?

But still, the main reason is the unwillingness of people to accept the existence of cyber-people. Remember how hard it was for society to get used to the idea of ​​cloning. Some believe that this is unnatural and contrary to the will of the Creator. Others are shackled by fear for their future, imagining the rise of cyborgs and the complete destruction of all life. Of course, this idea has many supporters. But it will most likely take decades for social and religious differences to subside.

Today, the development of biotechnology is at an early stage. Therefore, it is difficult to even imagine what the cyborg of the future will be like. But one thing is clear: the famous cyborg policeman will remain a film director’s fantasy, which is not destined to come true.

Sheep in wolf skins

Cyborgs

Education has created machines that look like people and people that look like machines.

Erich Fromm

Whatever one may say, technological progress requires sacrifices. Don't believe me? Take the statistics of deaths from horse falls in the 19th century and compare them with current road accident reports. Modern man Surrounded by hundreds of potential electromechanical killers - from hair dryers in the bathroom to exploding mobile phones. Our distant ancestors were afraid of predators in the jungle, and we are afraid to cross the road. For science fiction writers, this problem has long been solved. If machines are dangerous to humans, humans must become machines themselves. Eyes spoiled by monitors can be replaced with cameras, flabby muscles can be strengthened with polymer cables, and an Internet chip in the head will turn a klutz into a know-it-all. But what next?

The main Shinto shrine, Ise-jingu, was founded in 690. Every 20 years it was completely rebuilt from scratch ( last time- in 1993). The Japanese believe that the building remains the same. Human nature is not a temple, but a workshop. Will a person remain a person if all the organs in his body are replaced with mechanisms? Or will it be a creature of a new species that will replace you and me?

Who are you, fantastic cyborgs?

Man in a case

What is a "cyborg"? A living organism containing mechanical parts? Or a robot that has biological components in its device? Initially, a cyborg was understood as a person who was “rather alive than dead” and used technical implants only as convenient tools - not “at hand”, but in the hand. Or the head. Today, machines with biological appendages and even “purebred” robots are called cyborgs - for example, humanoid models of terminators from the movie saga of the same name.

The T-800 model had a coating of flesh and blood, so it was mistakenly called a “cyborg” (later it was dubbed both the all-metal T-1000 and the hybrid T-X). It is unknown whether the Terminator shell was alive in the biological sense of the word (the absence of heavy bleeding from wounds indicates the opposite). She played the role of camouflage, facilitating the introduction of a mechanical killer into human society. The Terminator's "meat" did not participate in any way in the functioning of its systems, so it would be more fair to call it an android.

The term “cyborg” - an abbreviation of the phrase “cybernetic (from the Greek kybernao - “steering”) organism” - appeared relatively recently, in 1960. Inventor Manfred Clynes used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating "machine-living organism" systems in space exploration.

Progress has one interesting pattern: the desire for miniaturization and getting closer to humans in the literal sense of the word. Bulky landline phones have become pocket-sized cell phones. Players, computers, watches, credit cards - we carry all this on ourselves. There is a joint evolution of man and technology, which sooner or later will lead to the emergence of real cyborgs.

“Unreal” ones exist today. People wear pacemakers, insulin pumps, ventilators, contact lenses, hearing aids, ceramic teeth, titanium plates on bones... Imagine a person who has all of these at the same time. A significant part of its vital functions is provided artificially. With the current level of technological development, such a cyborg will be disabled, and not a hero with superhuman abilities. So far, implanted machines compensate for human physiological deficiencies, and do not enhance his capabilities, but sooner or later the situation will change.

Where do cyborgs begin?

The first prototypes of cyborgs appeared only in the 19th century - unless, of course, you count South American Indians with gold plates in trepanned skulls as “cyborgs” - after all, to create a cybernetic organism you need at least some, even primitive, technologies.

An early example of a fictional synthesis of the living and the mechanical can be considered the brevet brigadier general John A. B. W. Smith from Edgar Allan Poe's story “The Man Who Was Hacked in Pieces” (1839). The ruthless Bugaboo and Kickapoo Indians so mutilated the war hero that he had to order spare parts for himself. When assembled, he looked stunning - athletic appearance, ideal body proportions, enchanting voice. And when disassembled it was “a bunch of junk.”

In 1908, the French writer Jean de la Hire (Count Adolphe d'Espy de la Hire) came up with a hero named Leo Saint-Clair, nicknamed Nyctalop*. He can be considered the first full-fledged superhero in the history of science fiction - a person who has superpowers and fights evil over a dozen stories. This character had incredible eyes, the irises of which changed color, and an artificial heart.

*Nyctalopia - night blindness. A person experiences difficulty seeing in poor lighting.

At the beginning of the 20th century, cyborgs went from heroes to victims. Merging with the machine began to be considered something like putting on a cast - an effective, but not the most convenient remedy for all diseases, including even death. In Katherine Lucille Moore's story "No Woman Fairer" (1944), the dancer Deirdre nearly dies in a fire. Her body is replaced by a mechanical one. He has no face, but it is elegant, agile and graceful. In the book “The Head of Professor Dowell” (1937) by Belyaev, the cyborg was created from a dead head, which was far from happy about it. But in some other cases, “heads in a jar” lead interesting and interesting lives. full of adventure life:

“Next to the earthling was Simon Wright, aka the Brain - a living human brain placed in a transparent cube with a nutrient saline solution. On the front wall of the cube there was a speaker and eye lenses” (Edmond Hamilton, “Captain Future Comes to the Rescue” (1940).

Am I a trembling creature?

A classic example is Isaac Asimov's story " Bicentennial Man"(1976), main character whose android NDR-113 planned to become a human and methodically replaced his mechanical “organs” with living ones. As a result, he was officially recognized as a man and died safely of old age.

Motoko Kusanagi from " Ghost in the Shell" - another cyborg, erasing the differences between machine and man. The futuristic special forces major is almost 100% a cyborg. And about these “almost” she has very big doubts. The girl suspects that she is a robot who has been implanted with false human memories. The i's are dotted after Motoko's consciousness merges with an artificial intelligence nicknamed "Puppeteer", as a result of which a completely new creature appears.

The cyborg's feelings about his own humanity (and man's suspicions about his artificiality) formed the basis of Ridley Scott's film "Blade Runner", which in turn was based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" The ethics of cyborgization here are sharpened to the limit: artificial replicants of the Nexus-6 model easily pass the Voight-Kampff test (identifying androids), they can be implanted with a false human memory, so there remains only a terminological difference between a robot, a cyborg and a person.

The financial issue of cyborgization was raised by Martin Caidin in the novel " Cyborg"(1972). Few people think that replacing living organs with artificial ones using the technologies of the 20th and 21st centuries costs fabulous money. Test pilot Steve Austin crashed, was badly injured and was made into a cyborg as part of a secret government experiment. The operation cost $6 million, so Steve informally became US property. He had to work for Uncle Sam and fight terrorism (characteristically, this takes place in the 1970s).

Filming « Robot policeman"cost $15 million, but the problems of this film were much simpler. The resurrected cop remained the property of the OCP corporation for only a couple of days, as regular “flashbacks” quickly returned his humanity. Screenwriter Edward Newmyer intended him to be a hybrid of Iron Man and Judge Dredd, so philosophical questions like “Am I a trembling creature or a cyborg?” very quickly fade into the background, giving way to restoring order progressive methods: First shoot, and then don’t ask anything.

One day, a lumberjack Nick fell in love with a girl, but an evil witch bewitched his ax - so that every time he went into the forest, Nick cut off a limb with it. However, the village blacksmith immediately made a prosthesis. Gradually, hand by hand, foot by foot, Nick became completely iron.

The only organ that could not be reproduced artificially was the heart. The Tin Woodman searched for the missing spare part for a long time - until the Wizard of Oz (Goodwin) made him a heart from fabric and sawdust. This example is interesting because the authors of the “twin” fairy tales showed an extreme case of complete cyborgization. The only element of humanity Tin Woodman- his former mind and personality. In all other respects, he is actually not a cyborg, but a robot.

The Tin Woodman's Achilles heel is susceptibility to corrosion (all he had to do to lose mobility was to cry). The irony is that original hero Baum's name was Tin Woodman. Tin - tin or tinned sheet metal that does not rust. Volkov got out of a sticky situation by calling the man “Iron.”

Another fabulous arena (in the literal sense of the word) for cyborgs is located in the territory of computer entertainment. Fighting games- these are games where a fantasy plot collides with mechanical improvements to the body. Most often, cyborgization is limited to replacing limbs: Yoshimitsu (Tekken, Soul Calibur) and Jax Briggs (Mortal Kombat) get artificial arms, and Baraka (Mortal Kombat) gets his famous retractable blades.

Sometimes cripples go into battle, their lives supported by special respirators (Kabal from Mortal Kombat), and sometimes it goes even further.

The Lin Kuei ninja clan decided to make all of its best fighters cyborgs. The Sector emerged as the most dangerous and evil. Smoke was cyborgized using nanotechnology. Cyrax turned out to be the least loyal - he ultimately went over to the side of the forces of good and found a way to regain his human body. By the way, the cyber-ninja Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid eventually also reformed and gave his life for Solid Snake. So when tested, evil game cyborgs often turn out to be kind. Somewhere deep in the BIOS.

Modern “urban fantasy” is also not alien to cybernetics. One of the most colorful characters in "Potter" - Alastor Moody(Moody) - has every right to be called a magical cyborg: his right leg, lost in the fight against the Death Eaters, was replaced with a prosthesis, and instead of the knocked-out eye, a magic eye was inserted, capable of rotating 360 degrees and seeing through any obstacles, including the invisibility cloak.

The “Other” section of the catalog of fantasy cyborgs can include all sorts of exotics: a hybrid of a human, a demon and a machine (Adam from the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) or the inhabitants of Phyrexia, a dark universe from MTG. They are born “normal” (if asexuality can be considered such), but very soon undergo the “Completion” procedure, during which they are stuffed to the gills with magic-mechanical implants.

Neal Stephenson's novel Avalanche describes a company called Ng Security that produces cyborg attack dogs. Their “heart” is miniature nuclear reactor. Heat dissipation is ensured by movement (if the dogs stop, they die). Dogs are kept in special boxes connected to virtual reality with a “dog paradise”.

Initially, the main scourge of cyberpunk cyborgs was considered “cyberpsychosis,” which arises from the loss of humanity and is fraught with uncontrolled hatred of “imperfect” people. Writers used it to further thicken genre colors (without any special maxims about the price of progress), and authors gaming systems limited the growth of the characters' capabilities by cyberpsychosis.

The current ideology of cyberpunk has changed slightly. No moral torment about humanity and obsessions due to implants. Merging with the machine is good. The Japanese, who live surrounded by Aibo dogs and robotic toilets, are especially optimistic about this.

For example, one of the main characters of the Appleseed manga is Briareus Hecatoncheir, a SWAT officer, 75% consisting of various high technologies. Being a cyborg is very pleasant for him: the armor coating provides a sense of touch, there are 9 eyes on the back of the head, 4 on the face, sensitive sensors in the “rabbit ears”, preliminary processing of information by the electronic brain and other delights that every second science fiction hero would line up for.

***

The paradox of Theseus's ship* does not really bother modern authors who come up with new cyborgs. Turning a person into a DIY constructor is no longer fashionable. Today, small, convenient implants are popular, and even better - costumes (Mjolnir from the Halo game series, the movie iron Man"). Does this mean that we abandon symbiosis with technology? No. It’s just that nanorobots and genetic engineering are much more effective than iron prostheses.

*The Athenians gradually replaced the rotten planks of the legendary ship until not a single original part remained in it and someone asked: “Is this the right ship?”

When we talk about cyborgs, scenes from science fiction films automatically come to mind. However, in a sense they already exist. For example, people with heart pacemakers or ear implants might fall into this category. Organic, biomechanical and electronic components coexist in their bodies. If this seems too simple for you, we invite you to learn about 10 people who have much more advanced technological devices installed in their bodies.

Man with a thumb drive: Jerry Jalawa

​This guy's finger has a real flash drive built into it. In principle, it can even be called a real “USB finger”. About 10 years ago Jerry suffered an accident. Part of his left ring finger had to be amputated. But the guy did not despair and decided to do something that any sane person would hardly have thought of. He implanted an information carrier into the remaining part of the limb that cannot be hacked. The implanted USB drive is hidden under a prosthetic that is attached to the undamaged area of ​​the finger. If Jerry needs to use his flash drive, he simply removes it, plugs the media into the computer's port, and then removes it.

9. Blade Runner

​Many have heard the story of Oscar Pistorius, a South African who had both legs amputated. But this did not break his character. Oscar even took part in the 2012 Paralympic Games and won second place in the 200-meter race. And soon after the end of the competition, he was convicted of murdering his girlfriend... Moreover, Oscar shot her by mistake, mistaking her for a robber. But this did not save him from punishment.

Pistorius uses carbon fiber prosthetics shaped like English letter"J". They allow him to move normally, despite his disability.

This is interesting: By the way, many athletes use carbon fiber prostheses. They are characterized by high strength and impact resistance with minimal weight.

Although Pistorius cannot serve as an example to follow in everything, it is partly thanks to his merits that this type of prosthetics is becoming increasingly popular.

8. Rob Spence

Canadian director Rob Spence calls himself an “Iborg.” At the age of 9, he was left without his right eye after an unsuccessful shot from a gun. In such a situation, most people usually insert a glass implant, and our hero did the same. But after walking with it for about 5 years, he decided to replace the primitive prosthesis with a tiny battery-powered video camera.

A whole team of engineers and scientists worked on the prototype for many months. Finally, the idea was realized and implanted into Rob Spence. The miniature device records everything its owner sees for later playback. That is, Spence cannot see directly with his new eye. Instead, the device wirelessly sends video to a portable screen. From there it can be sent to a computer for further editing or playback. Rob Spence himself views his new acquisition as an excellent opportunity to bring high level documentary and artistic video filming. The Canadian also hopes that this development will help advance research in the field of prosthetics. Perhaps in the near future, doctors will learn to connect the output wires of such cameras with the optic nerve, as has been demonstrated in dozens of science fiction films. At the very least, Rob's scientific team intends to work in this direction.

7. Tim Cannon

Comrades of Tim Cannon, the developer of modern software, managed to insert a real electronic chip under his skin. It's funny that none of them had the appropriate surgeon certificate. To relieve the pain, they used ordinary ice, because there was not even permission to use anesthesia.

Despite the blatant violation of all kinds of medical and legal norms, the idea itself must be considered interesting.

The Circadia 1.0 chip records Cannon’s temperature in real time and then sends the received data to a smartphone. Tim dreams of further integrating technology into the human body. He wants the information collected by the chip to be used to change the world around us! Cannon is confident that such technologies can be realistically implemented, for example, in a “smart home” system. After receiving data from the chip indicating the owner’s mood, household devices will be able to create the most comfortable atmosphere for him, for example, by dimming the lighting and turning on relaxing music.

6. Amal Grafstra

​Amal Grafstra owns the company Dangerous Things, which sells kits for self-injection of electronic chips into the body. He himself implanted RFID media in the hand of each hand between the index and thumb . They allow him to open the door of his house, car, or log into his computer with a quick scan. His chips are also linked to social media accounts.

The implants are difficult to notice unless Amal himself is willing to show them off. He is a unique personality in many ways, using modern technologies not to compensate for physical deficiencies and feel normal person. His goal is to use them to radically improve and simplify his life.

Cameron can safely be called a cyborg. He lost both legs and an arm in a train accident in his distant childhood. But, using prosthetics that replaced all 3 missing limbs, he was able to become an athlete, an excellent golfer and even a film actor.

The prosthetic legs were designed using the Hanger Comfortflex Socket system, which has the peculiarity that it actually stimulates the growth of muscle tissue. They contain sensors that distribute weight evenly and help regulate hydraulics. This helps Clapp move around.

This is interesting: Cameron, by the way, has different sets of prostheses that serve specific purposes: some are more comfortable for walking, others for running, others for swimming, etc. That is, they give Clapp the opportunity to lead an interesting and fulfilling life.

​Cybernetics professor Kevin Warwick is often called the “Cyborg Captain.” Agree, getting such a powerful nickname is not so easy. Even if you teach the intricacies of this science to other people. The thing is that Warwick himself is a cyborg. He, like the aforementioned Amal Grafstra, has several RFID chips implanted in his body.

Warwick also has electrode implants connected to his nervous system. And another set of electrodes is connected to his wife. Each of these implants records signals emanating from its nervous system. In other words, Kevin Warwick's hands can feel everything the same as his wife's hands. Unusual ideas this person is called mixed reaction the public and specialists. Thus, many people believe that all the professor’s inventions serve primarily for entertainment, and not for the real development of scientific technologies. He holds the opposite opinion.

​Nigel worked as a smelter for over ten years precious metals at a huge factory, which, you see, is quite prestigious. But one day an accident at work led to his serious injury. Doctors had to amputate part of Eklund's arm. Today he is one of 250 people using Bebionic upper limb prostheses. At the moment, they are considered the most advanced technologically. And one look at their stylish design is enough to understand why Bebionic devices are often called “the arm of the Terminator.”

Eklund can move his prosthetic by contracting muscles in the undamaged part of his arm. These movements are recorded by a special sensor and “extended” by the prosthetic limb. He can not only move his fingers, shake hands with friends or hold a cell phone. Bebionic technology is so advanced that Nigel has no problem shuffling a deck of cards or even tying his own shoelaces. At the same time, millions of people are sure that such prosthetics still only exist in science fiction films.

You might be surprised to learn that Neil Harbisson can “hear” colors. He was unlucky to be born colorblind. But recently, scientists implanted an antenna in his brain, which now sticks out right from the top of his head. This receiver allows Harbisson to perceive shades by transposing the spectrum range from color frequencies to sound frequencies. And its antenna is also capable of receiving Bluetooth signals!

Neil likes to “listen” to masterpieces of architecture, and he also takes with interest the sounds from portraits of famous people.

This is interesting: A USB connector attached to the back of Harbisson’s head allows him to charge his “brain antenna”. However, he hopes that in the future he will be able to do this by converting the body's energy, without using any external devices.

Unusual technology allows Nile to perceive not only visible to humans colors of the normal spectrum, but also shades of the infrared and ultraviolet ranges. A device integrated into his head raises Harbisson's sensitivity above normal levels, thereby turning him into a real cyborg.

1. Hybrid Assistive Limbs

The so-called Hybrid Assistive Limbs (or HALs) are functional, multifunctional exoskeletons designed to help previously wheelchair-bound people walk again and live a full life. Scientists from the Japanese University of Tsukuba, together with specialists from the Cyberdyne company, managed to create unique GVK. They are not intended to support people with disabilities, but to take human abilities to previously unseen levels. Innovative exoskeletons detect weak signals coming from the skin, analyze them and transmit movement commands to mechanical joints.

GVK users can lift objects 5 times heavier than ordinary people. Now step back for a second and imagine a future in which exoskeletons are used by firefighters, military personnel, construction workers, miners and rescue workers. Where the loss of limbs does not mean a limitation of a person’s physical capabilities. And guess what? This future is closer than it seems. By the beginning of 2014, the developers had leased more than 330 such suits to Japanese medical institutions.

You may feel differently about the cyborgs listed above. But don't forget: history shows that many greatest inventions At first they were assessed critically by society, and then became an integral part of people's lives.

Story

The idea of ​​a cyborg appears in science fiction just before World War II. The term was coined by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kleen in , in connection with their concept of expanding human capabilities for survival beyond Earth. This concept was the result of thinking about the need for a closer, more intimate relationship between man and machine as space exploration becomes a reality. A designer of medical devices and electronic information processing devices, Clynes was the lead scientist of the Dynamic Simulation Laboratory at Rockland Hospital in New York City.

• - vivid popularization of the term by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film J. Cameron Terminator.
• - in the book “Ribofunk” by Paul Di Filippo, there is an idea that an alternative to cyborgs in the future may be transgenes - genetically modified people.
• Bruce Sterling features “lobsters” as alternative cyborgs, and there are wars between cyborgs (“mechanists”) and transgenes (“shapers”).
• in Soviet science fiction, instead of cyborgs, “cybers” who were never human often appear.

Theory

The increasing dependence of a person on mechanisms, as well as the replacement of organs with mechanical devices (prostheses, implants) creates conditions for the gradual transformation of a person into a cyborg. Technology is essentially a projection of a person: clothes are a projection of the skin, a hammer is a projection of a fist, a saucepan is an organ projection of the stomach. In technology, a person projects himself, therefore the joint evolution of a person and technology into a cyborg is an objective process.

James Litten coined the term "cyborgization" to describe the process of becoming a cyborg.

Martin Caidin's science fiction novel "Cyborg" () describes the story of a man whose damaged organs are replaced by mechanical devices. The novel was adapted into the television series The Six Millionth Man in .

see also

• Bioroid
• Biorobot

• Biodroid - Star Wars universe (term used in relation to General Grievous)
• Kimek / Kimeh / Symek (English) Cymech) - Butlerian Jihad universe (prequel to Dune)
• The Borg are a race of cyborgs from the Star Trek universe.
• Servitor - Warhammer 40k universe

Links

• The first woman with a robotic arm compulenta.ru
• Stolyarova, O. E. Identity of cyborgs: Review of materials of the conference. “Cyborg identities” (October 21-22, 1999) // Social. and humane. Sciences. Otech. and abroad lit. Ser. 3, Philosophy: RJ. - M.: INION, 2000. - N 2. - P. 45-63

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See what a “Cybernetic organism” is in other dictionaries:

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The Guardians of the Rays in the world of the Dark Tower are twelve powerful creatures that oversee each of the ends of the six Rays, intersecting where they stand Dark tower. The number of Guardians is equal to the number of portals from which the Rays originate, so... ... Wikipedia

Who are cyborgs in Ukraine?

The cyborgs in Ukraine are the soldiers of the Ukrainian army who held (are holding) the Donetsk airport. There is simply no one else to highlight as examples, because the entire so-called anti-terrorist operation by the current Kyiv authorities has failed in all directions. And at the airport they more or less still hold their positions due to the constant reinforcement of new Ukrainian military personnel and even military equipment.

It’s just that not everyone knows that under the buildings of the Donetsk airport and beyond its aisles there are internal passages through which new forces are delivered from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian National Guard. But the Kyiv authorities, keeping silent secret plan made these soldiers real heroes.

Cyborg is an iron machine, a robot soldier from a science-fiction film, who listens only to orders and carries them out even at the cost of his own death.

To raise the spirit of its soldiers, whom Kyiv sent to fight the separatists, they were given this big name. How many of their young ones died defending the Donetsk airport!

Who was shot at? In ordinary peaceful people who are still defending their home and family, who were not afraid of these loud nicknames and remade the word cyborg into a coffin (read vice versa).

The Ukrainian military who occupied the Donetsk airport were dubbed cyborgs. And accordingly, from there they conducted targeted shelling of peaceful neighborhoods and objects social sphere with their heavy artillery. Because the normal people will not engage in such atrocities, then these non-humans were dubbed cyborgs - killing machines.

In Kyiv and throughout the rest of valiant Ukraine, this term was exalted - like wow, what super defenders we have. They protect the airport from occupying Russia.

Cyborgs are called fighters of the Ukrainian army who are now defending and fighting for Donetsk Prokofiev Airport. Partly this nickname appeared because many of them fight in bulletproof vests with high collars and protective spheres. In addition, they have been holding out for quite a long time, fighting with the DPR armed formations that significantly outnumber them. In Ukraine in Lately the word cyborg has become synonymous with such concepts as hero and patriot. Both experienced fighters who have passed through hot spots and young patriotic volunteers fight there. Recently, an 18-year-old cyborg, a young guy, died; in his homeland he was buried with military honors as a hero.

Cyborgs are the Ukrainian military that held the Donetsk airport in early and mid-2015. This nickname was not given by UkroSMI, but by DPR militants, for a long time unable to cope with the task of knocking out the military from the airport despite their obvious superiority in technology and people: ... these are not people, these are some kind of cyborgs... Knocking out the Ukrainians was timed either to coincide with the birthday of GDP, or to Surkov as a gift. Unparalleled, in the current time of universal acquisitiveness, heroism has become a symbol-miracle, like the Virgin of Orleans - for all parties. To one side as an example, and to the other as a reason to realize that a victorious march will not happen with little bloodshed.

Some of the military personnel, even after the order to abandon their positions, refused to leave them and died under the rubble of the ceilings that had already been blown up by sappers.

Cyborgs are soldiers of the Ukrainian Army who protect the Donetsk airport from terrorists. They are called that because they are almost invincible and hold the airport for a long time. They are psychologically stable and courageous - that’s why they were called that.

Cyborgs are fighters who fired at civilians from the territory of the Donetsk airport.

Cyborgs because for a long time they could not be knocked out of there, Novorossiya did not have special weapons that could penetrate such powerful concrete floors, because the new airport, which the Ukrainian authorities destroyed to the ground, was built on the site of the old one.

CYBORGS

This nickname was given to the armed forces of Ukraine, which long time held the airport in Donetsk.

The battles for the airport lasted for many months and it seemed that it was not people who were fighting there, but real cyborgs.

Cyborgs, a familiar word to many, in Ukraine (or in Ukraine, there are still disputes on this issue) acquired a new meaning, these are the troops who held the Donetsk airport for a long time and tediously, who shot left and right, apparently cyborgs, because hearts iron, or maybe because they don’t have their own mind, but act on instructions. But cyborgs today are exactly that.

It is customary to call the soldiers of the valiant Ukrainian army, which was sitting at the airport in Donetsk, cyborgs. This name, according to Ukrainians, should give fighters strength and self-confidence. It is known that in addition to the Ukrainians, foreign mercenaries from PMCs are fighting on the side of the cyborgs.