This cyborg life

Meet Neil, A Real-Life Cyborg Who Hears Colors

28-year-old Neil Harbisson has achromatopsia, which means he only sees in black and white. You’ll notice in his photo however, that he’s wearing a camera mounted to his head. This converts colors into soundwaves—making him “hear” colors. It’s almost like a form of synesthesia, where one of the forms makes people see colors for specific…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Jun 4

This Cyborg Life Gets Unplugged

With Monday here, it’s time to wrap up last week’s theme This Cyborg Life, a look into the future of the machine called Man. https://gizmodo.com/this-cyborg-life-5400589 Yes, that means saying goodbye to Aimee Mullins. She was with us for three essays, all of which dealt with issues of prostheses from unexpected perspectives, that few of us…

Tech News Mark Wilson Nov 16

Can Your Body Be A Battery?

What if machines ran off biological fuel—blood sugar—from our bodies? Could we basically power gadgets on America’s increasing supply of body fat and Snickers bars? The questions were thrown at me by our dear Brian Lam with a disclaimer of “I may have been under narcotic substances when I came up with this idea.” But,…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Nov 15

Psychic Powers, Cochlear Implants, and My Bionic Ex-Boyfriend

There were some perks to dating a cyborg. My ex-boyfriend Josh was born mostly deaf, but had some hearing in one ear thanks to a cochlear implant—a spiral of electrodes threaded into his cochlea to stimulate the auditory nerve, bypassing damaged parts of the ear. The surgery, which is irreversible, wipes out any residual hearing…

Health Anna Jane Grossman Nov 15

Meet the British Man with the “Bionic Bottom”

What better way to, um, end the This Cyborg Life theme week than a post about a British guy with a bionic ass? Meet Ged Galvin, a 55-year-old chap from Barnsley, south Yorkshire, who is currently in possession of a very special remote control. A remote control that, when engaged, controls Galvin’s bowels and allows…

Tech News Jack Loftus Nov 15

Careful, You’ll Poke an Eye Out with That Thing

How might one repair a cyborg’s eye in the future? Why, with this handy eyeball removing tool. How does one forget what’s seen in this image? Macallan 12 years, neat, that’s how. [Bloomers and Bows via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Tech News Jack Loftus Nov 15

The Enhanced Human, SkyMall Style

I am ashamed of two things. 1) That in our quest for the cyborg life, we were beaten to the punch by SkyMall, and 2) that none of the following products are fake. Let’s just get this first one out of the way: Not only does the Head Spa Massager look like someone in the…

Gadgets Wilson Rothman Nov 14

How Cellphones Are Changing Our Brains

We’ve spent a lot of time this week discussing how we can use technology to change our bodies. But according to new research, one of the gadgets we rely on daily is already having a measurable effect on our brains. Researchers at Örebro University in Sweden found that cellphone usage increases the brain’s production of…

Tech News Chris Jacob Nov 14

Normal Was Never Cool: Inception of Perception

Last year I met a beautiful five-year-old child, who had been born with neurofibramatosis (NF), causing her left leg to have extremely brittle bones. For nearly the first year of her life, her parents and doctors were unaware of the NF, and the brittleness had contributed to multiple bone fractures of the lower leg, unbeknownst…

Tech News Aimee Mullins Nov 14

There Shouldn’t Be A GPS Tracking System In My Lingerie

I’m all for naughty, oh-come-treat-me-like-a-bad-girl-tonight scraps of lace. What I’m not such a fan of is trashy oh-come-follow-me-using-the-built-in-GPS lingerie. I don’t care if it’s pretty, frilly designer lingerie. It’s got a damn tracking system embedded in the fabric. https://gizmodo.com/designer-lingerie-has-embedded-gps-uplink-for-lady-loca-5072101 Designed by Lucia Lorio, this fashion line is dubbed “Find Me If You Can.” But how…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Nov 14

Becoming a Sexual Cyborg (NSFW)

I used to think “sexual enhancement” just meant “sex toys.” That is, until I started exploring the wonderful—and sometimes utterly weird—world of mechanical and electronic sex augmentations. Here’s what’s happening now and what will happen soon. As you’ll see, existing innovations take our tongues, fingers, vulvas and penises to the next level. But the future…

Tech News Wilson Rothman Nov 14

Finger Touching Phone Concept Gives You Touchtone Knuckles

The Finger Touching phone concept is perfect if you’re not brave enough to have a phone embedded under your skin, yet still want to look trendy and futuristic. Granted you’d look dorky talking into your hand, hologram buttons or not. https://gizmodo.com/digital-tattoo-interface-turns-your-skin-into-a-display-5401714 The idea is that the phone’s keypad is projected onto your hand and the…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Nov 13

At What Point Would Our Cyborg-selves Cease To Be Human?

Yes, it’s the RoboCop question. How much of your body would you have to replace with machines before you could no longer be considered human? Let’s break it down into percentages. What Percentage of Our Body Would Have To Be Replaced Before We Ceased Being Human?(poll)

Tech News Sean Fallon Nov 13

Apple iThink (It’s Not Real, But You Know You Want It)

While it would be a shame to lose the understated flare of Jonathan Ive design, the prospect of a glowing Apple logo embedded in the rear of my skull would be a worthy trade. That is, until my AT&T reception cuts out and my corneas fill with that damned spinning beach ball. (Click each image…

Tech News Mark Wilson Nov 13

10 Human Functions We’ve Already Handed Over To The Machines

One idea behind a “cyborg life” is that we look to machines to take on critical, physical roles. These 10 machines illustrate how we have already begun passing the torch on tasks we are getting to lazy to do ourselves. Remember handwriting? We have all but abandoned it, but the torch is being taken up…

Tech News Sean Fallon Nov 13

Synthetic Biology: Why Not Pursuing Crazy Biotech Is Dangerous

We are at a biological turning point: We can invent organisms to make our drugs and fuel, even recode our DNA. It’s easy to run away screaming, but author Michael Specter says we have to quit whining and face it. Specter, who covers the science beat for The New Yorker, is pissed off. Forces on…

Tech News Wilson Rothman Nov 13

Brainputer

Whoa whoa whoa. Wait a second. You’re telling me there’s no liquid cooling? [Source Unknown]

Tech News Mark Wilson Nov 13

Meat Band-Aids and Mass Production of Living Tissue

I’m touching a wet slab of protein, what feels like a paper-thin slice of bologna. It’s supple, slimy, but unlike meat, if you were to slice it down the center today, tomorrow the wound would heal. It’s factory-grown living tissue. The company behind the living, petri-dish-grown substance known as Apligraf hates my new name for…

Tech News Mark Wilson Nov 13

EyeWriter Allows Man To Paint Despite Paralysis

Before disease took his ability to move, Tony Quan was an amazing graffiti artist. Now he is completely paralyzed, save for his eyes, and still an amazing artist. Seeing how he works left me with tear-streaked cheeks. Beautiful, isn’t it? Art, whether in the form of graffiti or coffee, is an individual’s contribution to humanity.…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Nov 13

NeuroStar TMS Depression Therapy System First To Be Given FDA Approval

Last year, Neuronetics’ NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy system became the first device of its kind to be cleared by the FDA for treating depression. Although, the similarity to a dentist chair was probably not a great idea. Nonetheless, trials on 164 patients with unipolar, non-psychotic major depressive disorder using the device proved that…

Tech News Sean Fallon Nov 13

This cyborg life

Meet Neil, A Real-Life Cyborg Who Hears Colors

This Cyborg Life Gets Unplugged

Can Your Body Be A Battery?

Psychic Powers, Cochlear Implants, and My Bionic Ex-Boyfriend

Meet the British Man with the “Bionic Bottom”

Careful, You’ll Poke an Eye Out with That Thing

The Enhanced Human, SkyMall Style

How Cellphones Are Changing Our Brains

Normal Was Never Cool: Inception of Perception

There Shouldn’t Be A GPS Tracking System In My Lingerie

Becoming a Sexual Cyborg (NSFW)

Finger Touching Phone Concept Gives You Touchtone Knuckles

At What Point Would Our Cyborg-selves Cease To Be Human?

Apple iThink (It’s Not Real, But You Know You Want It)

10 Human Functions We’ve Already Handed Over To The Machines

Synthetic Biology: Why Not Pursuing Crazy Biotech Is Dangerous

Brainputer

Meat Band-Aids and Mass Production of Living Tissue

EyeWriter Allows Man To Paint Despite Paralysis

NeuroStar TMS Depression Therapy System First To Be Given FDA Approval

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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