Will humans achieve active evolution and become one with machines? He is the world's first cyborg

Since the first single-cell life appeared on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, life has undergone a long evolution to become what it is today.

The evolution of species depends on random mutations, and all species are no exception. However, for future humans, this rule may be changed, and humans may change from passive evolution to active evolution. The so-called active evolution does not rely on gene mutations, but combines humans and machines through future technology to make the body have more powerful functions. This is a beautiful vision, but it is not imagined out of thin air, because the world's first biochemical electronic man has already appeared. Although he has passed away now, his attempts have allowed humans to see more possibilities. Let's talk about the story of Peter Scott Morgan.

Peter is an Anglo-American and a robotics scientist, which formed an important foundation for his subsequent experience.

Peter graduated from Imperial College London. He is happy to share what he knows with others. In the first half of his life, he has given more than 1,000 speeches. 2017 was undoubtedly a dark year for Peter, because in this year he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, which we usually call ALS. Compared with other ALS patients, Peter's condition seems to be more pessimistic. The doctor told him that his life will end in 6 months. Because this disease will cause rapid atrophy of muscles throughout his body, it may only weaken his motor ability at first, but then it will affect eating and even breathing, and eventually Peter will die of respiratory failure.

Faced with this sudden death sentence, most people would complain about the injustice of fate, but Peter refused to accept this fate that did not belong to him.

Since ALS will make his body gradually lose control, Peter decided to replace his body and become the world's first cyborg. In terms of the current level of human technology, cyborg is basically a science fiction term, but Peter used his subsequent experience to show the world how science fiction can become reality. As a robot scientist, Peter used his connections to find some excellent robot experts and artificial intelligence experts, and also brought together some companies in related fields to form a team. Peter named this team "Rebels" and he was determined to be the one who resisted his own destiny.

This disease will gradually paralyze the patient, but the most terrifying thing is that this paralysis is not limited to the ability to move, but will also affect the body's internal organs, which will directly threaten the patient's life.

In view of this, the first thing Peter has to do is to replace those organs that may endanger his life after degeneration, such as performing a total laryngectomy. Because once the throat loses control, the saliva secreted from the mouth may enter the lungs through the trachea, which will endanger his life. Of course, Peter's "human-machine fusion" project is not just to save his life, but to start a new life, so a total laryngectomy is not enough. In order to be able to communicate with people with his own voice after the operation, before the operation, Peter contacted voice technology research and development experts, who collected Peter's original voice and produced a synthetic voice with a very similar timbre for him.

It’s hard to imagine that it took a year just to create a synthetic voice that was indistinguishable from the original.

Of course, Peter was not idle during this period. He underwent gastrostomy and cystostomy operations. This series of reconstruction surgeries greatly extended Peter's life. Peter knew that as his condition worsened, the only thing he could control might be his eyes, so he repaired his eyesight through laser surgery and began to transform his wheelchair, which was equipped with computers, cameras, robotic arms, etc. This allowed Peter to control computers, wheelchairs and all the equipment he needed through eye tracking technology. After completing these, Peter not only saved his life, but also saved his life. In Peter's words, "Peter 1.0 ends and Peter 2.0 begins."

Although Peter can communicate normally with people through modern technology, the loss of facial expressions makes him feel imperfect.

Later, Peter installed a display screen on his chest, which would display his 3D animated avatar. Peter continuously improved the avatar, making it closer to his real self. Peter's series of operations allowed him to escape the curse of 6 months of life, and he lived for another 5 years after being diagnosed with ALS. Although Peter died in June 2022, his actions showed us a different future, especially for people with physical disabilities. This is definitely a beautiful vision. Human-machine integration and active evolution may not only be science fiction terms, but they may become a reality in the future.

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