The story of Manel de Aguas has not stopped circulating on the Internet in recent days. As he explains, in 2020 this young man from Barcelona decided to install two sensors to monitor humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature; and thanks to these fins, he began to “rethink his identity and connect with nature and other species.” “I’m not 100% human“El Español was a direct headline.

And in today’s world, it’s not hard not to be 100% human. Aguas commented on how routine work such as renewing the DNI has led to numerous administrative problems. And this is definitely the most interesting part of the story. First of all, because in recent years biohackers, cyborgs and, increasingly, sociotechnological experiments have not stopped appearing. What place do all these new realities have in today’s world?

When fiction starts to get (too) real

“I think I’m trans.” This is one of the plots from which the famous HBO series ‘Years and years’ began. Young Bethany-Bisme Lyons admits to her family the problem that has worried her for the past few months/years. Parents who are very open about gender diversity feel safe in the moment. Until Bethany adds no: “I’m not transgender, I’m trans person”.

The metaphor isn’t so subtle (Bethany dreams of going to a Swiss clinic to be turned into data and live in the cloud forever), but it tells us avoid any of the problems may result in the emergence of new technologies. Certainly not a novelty in recent years (the term ‘cybernetics’ was coined by Norbert Wiener in 1948, and ‘cyborgs’ have been freely circulating in contemporary culture since at least 1966).

Also, if we go back further, many experts, homo habilis as the first cyborg: as the first link in an animal chain whose way of relating to the world is an ‘artificial appendage’. So we. However, this is the most basic definition of a cyborg. As soon as we can think, we realize that there is so much more. Actually, that “beyond” is already among us.

An increasingly noisy minority

The case of Manel de Aguas is notable for having an important aesthetic component and also for its reflections on how this technical change affected his identity. Again, The use of biointegrated sensors has been on the table for many years.. In 2017, North American software company Three Square Market announced that it would go no further and offer new functionality to employees who want implants (Verychip type), giving them new functions such as opening doors, accessing computers, making copies, making payments. for shopping from vending machines.

The interest seems mainly to be advertising, but it shows how in recent years the small niche of the “cyborg” has begun to attract attention. There is no doubt that the most famous case is the case of Neil Harbisson, who was born with a congenital disease that prevents him from seeing colors (achromatopsia), and has since 2004 had a sensor integrated into his skull that allows him to associate colors with colours. recognizes and recognizes sounds. but we must not forget that many artists and biohackers They’ve been doing ‘experiments’ like this for years..

In Spain, for example, Catalan artist Moon Ribas has placed an online seismic sensor on his wrist that allows him to measure the speed of movement of people around him, apart from earthquakes. And in Europe, Kevin Warwick, professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, placed a neural interface of 100 electrodes connected to the median nerve in 2002, allowing him to control a mechanical arm over the internet.

The law is not there, it is not expected

Stanislaw Lem has an old story where a racing driver gradually replaces his body with all sorts of gadgets until nothing is left of his “biological self.” In the story, a judgment is made as to whether Mr. Smith is someone or is instead just a bunch of wires, pots and pans. Before he got to this point, Neil Harbisson was always well aware of that. The technological challenges are fundamental, but the legal and social ones are also important..

He knows this well, it’s not for nothing that a government is the first person to be “recognized as a cyborg” by the British. That’s why, along with Moon Ribas, they founded the Mataró-based Cyborg Foundation in 2010 to “help people become cyborgs.”

In fact, they didn’t make much progress. To this day, many self-proclaimed cyborgs live in a gray area. And we’re talking about technological implants, but the truth is today non-medical body modifications remain a highly controversial topic. A few years ago, we discussed the case of a 73-year-old American who suffered from “body integrity identity disorder” and had a healthy leg amputated. To do this, he had to go to an Asian country (he didn’t want to give more details about that time)

But the truth is that in the same story (as in Manel de Aguas’s) we find it very difficult to control that in a globalized world like now citizens do not alter their bodies or genomes. Well, reality is tying up the legal systems of half the world.. We must not forget that we live in a world of genetically modified people and that despite the breakup caused by the international scandal after first births, the techniques work and can create a real dystopia if we are not careful. in our own home.

Image | Markus Virgo