Will cyborgs be immortal?

Neil Harbisson
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The third procedure that has been proposed to make us immortal is the following: as our organs deteriorate, we could replace them with artificial organs, thus becoming a cyborg, a being intermediate between man and machine. The process could be repeated as many times as needed, potentially making us immortal.

Just now, this line of research is not very much advanced.

• We have pacemakers, electronic devices that help the human heart to work better. Although we have been trying to build artificial hearts for several decades, it cannot be said that they have been a success. For the time being, human-to-human heart transplants are overwhelmingly better than artificial hearts.
• Artificial kidneys exist (dialysis machines), but they are very large and cannot be implanted. On the other hand, just now we do not have artificial livers.
• We have many aids to compensate for the deterioration of sense organs: external devices (glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids...) plus more or less permanent implants (such as artificial lenses in the eyes). The possibility of designing artificial eyes, which would restore sight to the blind, is being investigated, but only preliminary results have been obtained. This, however, is one of the most promising lines of research at present.
• Good results have also been achieved in the manufacture of robotic arms, to help people who have lost a limb.
• Research is being done, and some progress has been made, to correct some problems that make it impossible to speak by connecting the brain of those affected to a device that generates spoken words.
• Avant-garde artist Neil Harbisson became the first person officially recognized as a cyborg by a government. Harbisson has an antenna implanted in his brain that, according to him, lets him perceive infrared and ultraviolet light, plus receive images, videos, music or telephone calls directly into his head from external devices such as mobile phones or artificial satellites.

If this research progresses (there is still a long way to go), it may be possible to replace many of our organs as they deteriorate. But a very important problem remains: the brain also ages and it is not possible to replace it. The conclusion is obvious: although it may be possible to increase longevity by using artificial organs (something that has not yet been proven), by transforming ourselves into a cyborg we will not be immortal, because the brain will end up deteriorating and, as this is the organ related to personal identity, when the brain dies, the individual to which it belonged will die. This cannot be solved with a brain transplant, as I explained in another post.

However, there is a fourth method, to which I will dedicate the next post, and which, combined with this one, could perhaps solve the problem.

The same post in Spanish

Thematic Thread on What is Immortality?: Previous Next

Manuel Alfonseca