Cyborg (n) A person whose physical tolerances or capabilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by a machine or other external agency that modifies the body’s functioning; an integrated man-machine system. — The Oxford English Dictionary
Okay, so now that we know what they are, think about the people you know. Any false hips? Any cochlear implants? How about that douchebag who wears his bluetooth headset everywhere? What about that guy who always has at least one earbud from his MP3 player in his ear?
If you can’t function without your tech, and you wear it constantly, then I contend that your tech has become a part of your body. The MP3 player is a debateable case, but I don’t think the Bluetooth headset is. People who are addicted to those really do feel like they are missing something without it. And it only gets worse from here. We’ll get wearable computers and use them to augment our intelligence and to remember all those facts that we can no longer be bothered to think about. We’ll have personal sonar systems that track if anyone is sneaking up on us. And we’ll have it sooner than you think — some people have it already.
I see cyborgs all around me every day. So does everyone else, but somehow nobody realizes what they are. We have a cyborg populace wired together through a global wireless communications fabric of cellphones and wireless internet, and we have this RIGHT NOW. And somehow this is accepted as normal. Crazy.
