We all like to joke about what might happen if robots, powered by artificial intelligence, decide they want to overthrow humans.
\nThat scenario is, at best, decades away. But this week I\u2019ve been pondering something much more immediate, and in my view, more likely. What will happen when humans decide to become robots?
\n“We\u2019re at a key transition in human history,\u201d says Prof Hugh Herr, who heads the Biomechatronics Group at the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
\nHe says the group\u2019s aim is to establish the scientific and technological conditions that will eventually eliminate disability, whether through paralysis or amputation.
\nBut that incredible goal has been achieved, then what?
\n“We\u2019re fusing the nervous system with the built world,\u201d he says.
\n“We\u2019re transitioning from a relationship where we use technology that is separate from our nervous system, to a new epoch of integration, of human physiology.”
\nSimulating ankles
\nProf Herr is a double amputee. In 2012, I saw him move a room in London to tears when he revealed his incredibly sophisticated bionic legs that allowed him to move with natural poise and grace.
\nIn 2014, Prof Herr\u2019s technology meant Adrianne Haslet-Davis returned to the dancefloor, less than a year since losing a limb in the Boston marathon bombings. Her first performance after the incident brought a TED talk audience instantly to its feet.
\nI visited Prof Herr\u2019s lab last week to learn more about the work is team is doing, and where it may lead. Right now, much of the research is focused on doing things the human body can do instinctively, but are extremely complex to engineer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all like to joke about what might happen if robots, powered by artificial intelligence, decide they want to overthrow humans. That scenario is, at best, decades away. But this week I\u2019ve been pondering something much more immediate, and in my view, more likely. What will happen when humans decide to become robots? “We\u2019re at<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[454],"class_list":{"0":"post-4229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tech","8":"tag-when-your-body-becomes-eligible-for-an-upgrade"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartabangla.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}