{"id":18245,"date":"2022-10-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=18245"},"modified":"2022-11-02T12:51:35","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T11:51:35","slug":"could-we-become-cold-ruthless-cybermen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/10\/11\/could-we-become-cold-ruthless-cybermen\/","title":{"rendered":"Could we become cold, ruthless Cybermen?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>
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\"Popcorn<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Could we become cold, ruthless Cybermen?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We assess the likelihood of humanity turning into cyborgs, like Doctor Who\u2019s infamous foe<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by STEPHEN KELLY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When they were first created in the 1960s, Doctor Who\u2019s <\/em>Cybermen were a vision of a nightmare future, where humanity has become more machine than flesh. But as time goes by, and more advances are made in bionics and neural implants, this vision doesn\u2019t seem so far-fetched. As the Cybermen return for Doctor Who\u2019s <\/em>Centenary Special, Timothy Constandinou, professor of bioelectronics at Imperial College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute, is cautious about us being upgraded to a race of cyborgs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very far from the science fiction notion of enhancement,\u201d says Constandinou. \u201cAll implants available now, either clinically or commercially, exist to solve medical problems. But if you look at something like cochlear implants, which help people who are profoundly deaf to hear, or experiments with brain computer interfaces, which could help people with locked-in syndrome communicate using neural signals, those are forms of enhancement.\u201d For anything beyond medical use, however, he thinks that, \u201cfrom an ethical and regulatory perspective, it would be hard to see the light of day. There\u2019s a lot of concern in government about the use and misuse of technology.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if a company was to get the go-ahead to turn us into Cybermen, current technology is limited. Take artificial limbs, such as a bionic arm. Constandinou refers to a million dollar \u2018Luke Skywalker arm\u2019 that could be controlled by the user through a nerve that had been reconnected to muscle in the chest. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe problem was that you always had to be looking at what you\u2019re doing, because the arm offered no sensory feedback,\u201d he says. \u201cMany Luke arm users stopped using them and went back to their prosthetic hook.\u201d Creating an arm that can sync with the brain is a huge technical task, according to Constandinou. \u201cIf a nerve is 1mm in diameter and has 100,000 nerve fibres in that 1mm, we currently have no way to connect onto those 100,000 fibres in a reliable way that will last safely for years. If we could, I\u2019m quite confident that we could create the most natural control of a prosthetic limb.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybermen have not only tampered with their bodies, but also with their minds, and each one has an emotional inhibitor. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brain implants are not as fanciful as seamless robotic limbs. Last year, researchers at the University of California surgically implanted a device into a patient\u2019s brain that had been calibrated to deliver a pulse of electric stimulation each time it detected specific neural signs of depression. Constandinou says that he can see similar technology being used in the future. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re looking at what we\u2019re trying to treat today, I would say neurodegeneration is a possible area \u2013 we are already seeing how deep brain stimulation implants in people with Parkinson\u2019s disease are treating symptoms such as tremor or stiffness,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue with implants is that they are large and need invasive surgery. Constandinou holds up an implant the size of an iPhone. \u201cMy area of research is in making this the size of a peppercorn,\u201d he says. \u201cSo going down around 1,000 times in volume to a future where it\u2019s injectable\u2026 the only way to reach a larger population is to reduce invasiveness.\u201d The Cybermen have no such concerns. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VERDICT<\/strong>
<\/span>To turn someone into a Cyberman would just be too invasive, and the tech is unlikely to be around for a long time. You can rest easy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

by STEPHEN KELLY<\/strong> (<\/span>@StephenPKelly<\/a><\/em>) Stephen is a culture and science writer, specialising in television and film.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Watch the Doctor Who <\/em>Centenary Special this October. Check Radio Times <\/em>for details.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

ILLUSTRATIONS: ADAM GALE, MAIN ILLUSTRATION: ADAM MAZUR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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