Kevin Warwick
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Kevin Warwick is a cybernetics professor at the University of Reading, UK. He was born on 9th February 1954 in Coventry, UK. He is probably best known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, although he has also done much research in the field of robotics.
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[edit] Project Cyborg
Probably the most famous piece of research undertaken by Professor Warwick (and the origin of the nickname, "Captain Cyborg", given to him by The Register) is the set of experiments known as Project Cyborg, in which he had a chip implanted into his arm, with the aim of "becoming a cyborg".
The first stage of this research, which began on 1998-08-24, involved a simple RFID transmitter being implanted beneath Professor Warwick's skin, and used to control doors, lights, heaters, and other computer-controlled devices based on his proximity. The main purpose of this experiment was to test the limits of what the body would accept, and how easy it would be to receive a meaningful signal from the chip.[1]
The second stage involved a far more complex chip which was implanted on 2002-03-14, and which interfaced directly into Professor Warwick's nervous system. The electrode array inserted contained around 100 electrodes, of which 25 could be accessed at any one time, whereas the median nerve which it monitored carries many times that number of signals. The experiment proved successful, and the signal produced was detailed enough that a robot arm developed by Warwick's colleague, Dr Peter Kyberd, was able to mimic the actions of Professor Warwick's own arm.[citation needed]
A highly publicised extension to the experiment, in which a simpler array was implanted into Professor Warwick's wife—with the aim of creating some form of telepathy or empathy using the Internet to communicate the signal from afar—was also moderately successful, although the implant seems to have been less successful at stimulating signals than at measuring them. Finally, the effect of the implant on Professor Warwick's hand function was measured using the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP). It was feared that directly interfacing with the nervous system might cause some form of damage or interference, but no measurable effect was found.
[edit] Implications and criticisms
Professor Warwick and his colleagues claim that the Project Cyborg research could lead to new medical tools for treating patients with damage to the nervous system, as well opening the way for the more ambitious enhancements Professor Warwick advocates. Some transhumanists even speculate that similar technologies could be used for technology-facilitated telepathy, or "techlepathy."[2] Critics, however, suggest that the experiment was little more than a publicity stunt.[citation needed] Warwick himself asserts that his controversial work is important because it directly tests the boundaries of what is known about the human ability to integrate with computerised systems.[citation needed]
An additional controversy arose in August 2002, shortly after the Soham murders, when Professor Warwick reportedly offered to implant a tracking device into an 11-year-old girl as an anti-abduction measure. The plan produced a mixed reaction, including ethical concerns from a number of children's societies, with support from many concerned parents.[citation needed] As a result, the idea did not go ahead.
Anti-theft RFID chips are common in jewelry or clothing in some Latin American countries due to a high abduction rate,[3] and the company Verichip announced plans in 2001 to expand its line of currently available medical information implants,[4], to be GPS trackable when combined with a separate GPS device.[5][6] [7] [8]
[edit] Personal opinions
Professor Warwick is known for taking every opportunity to publicise his work, and often appears on radio and TV interviews. He also has very outspoken views on the future, particularly with respect to artificial intelligence and its impact on the human species: he is a proponent of the strong AI view that machines will eventually become at least as intelligent as human beings, and argues that we will need to use technology to enhance ourselves in order to avoid being overtaken. He also points out that there are many limits, such as our sensorimotor abilities, that we can overcome with machines, and is on record as saying that he wants to gain these abilities: "There is no way I want to stay a mere human."[9]
His tendency to court the media has led Warwick's critics to view his ideas with extreme skepticism, often dismissing them out of hand and accusing him of concentrating on publicity at the cost of serious research. Some refer to him as Captain Cyborg - a name probably created by The Register, who have published particularly personal criticisms of his work - and there was at one time an entire website, called Kevin Warwick Watch, devoted to recording and criticising his activities. His supporters assert that the publicity he deliberately courts around his research is also important as it generates interest in his work and helps to show the public as well as skeptical academics that his theories are more than just wishful science fictional speculation. It is also valuable outreach for the field of Cybernetics as a whole.
[edit] Other activities
As well as the Project Cyborg work, Professor Warwick has been involved in several of the major robotics developments within the Cybernetics Department at Reading. These include the "seven dwarves", a version of which was given away in kit form as Cybot on the cover of Real Robots Magazine.
He also presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2000 on the theme of robots, using examples from research at Reading and at other British universities. His selection reportedly sparked letters of complaint to the head of the Royal Institution, Susan Greenfield, from other prominent AI researchers.
Warwick's claims that robots that can program themselves to avoid each other while operating in a group raises the issue of self-organisation, and as such might be the major impetus in following developments in this area. In particular, the works of Francisco Varela and Humberto Maturana, once in the province of pure speculation now have become immediately relevant with respect to synthetic intelligence. Cyborg-type systems not only are homeostatic (meaning that they are abe to preserve stable internal conditions in various environments) but adaptive, if they are to survive. Testing the claims of Varela and Maturana via synthetic devices is the larger and more serious concern in the discussion about Warwick and those involved in similar research. "Pulling the plug" on independent devices cannot be as simple as it appears, for if the device displays sufficient intelligence and assumes a diagnostic and prognostic stature, we may ultimately one day be forced to decide between what it could be telling us as counterintuitive (but correct) and our impulse to disconnect because of our limited and "intuitive" perceptions. Warwick's robots seemed to have exhibited behavior not anticipated by the research, one such robot "committing suicide" because it could not cope with its environment.[citation needed] In a more complex setting, it may be asked whether a "natural selection" may be possible, neural networks being the major operative.
[edit] References
- ^ Wired Magazine 8.02 (Feb 2000), 'Cyborg 1.0: Interview with Kavin Warwick', http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.02/warwick.html (accessed 25-12-2006)
- ^ George Dvorsky (2004-04-26). Evolving Towards Telepathy. Betterhumans.
- ^ missingbyline. "missingtitle", Arizona Daily Star, missingdateline.
- ^ VeriChip. Implantable Verification Solution for SE Asia. Inforlexus.
- ^ Julia Scheeres. "Kidnapped? GPS to the Rescue", Wired News, 2002-01-25.
- ^ Julia Scheeres. "Politician Wants to 'Get Chipped'", Wired News, 2002-02-15.
- ^ missingbyline. "missingtitle", missingwork, missingdateline.
- ^ missingbyline. "missingtitle", The Miami Herald, missingdateline.
- ^ Kevin Warwick, FAQ, http://www.kevinwarwick.com/faq.htm (last question)
[edit] Bibliography
- Warwick, Kevin. I, Cyborg. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252072154.
- Warwick, Kevin. March of the Machines: The Breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252072235.
- Warwick, Kevin. QI: The Quest for Intelligence. Piatkus Books. ISBN 0749922303.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Kevin Warwick's official site
- Ananova story, with pictures of the chip and operation (dead link, see archive)
- List of articles mentioning "Captain Cyborg" at the Register
- Kevin Warwick Watch (site devoted to criticising Kevin's activities; no longer active so pointed at archived version)
- Interview with Kevin Warwick in Future Fire 1 (2005)
- Video of Kevin Warwick speaking at WhatTheHack
