Body hacking is the application of the hacker ethic (often in combination with a high risk tolerance) in pursuit of enhancement or change to the body's functions through technological means, such as do-it-yourself cybernetic devices [1] or by introducing biochemicals. [2]
Grinders are a self-identified community of body hackers. Many grinders identify with the biopunk movement, open-source transhumanism, and techno-progressivism. [3] [4] [5] The Grinder movement is strongly associated with the body modification movement and practices actual implantation of cybernetic devices in organic bodies as a method of working towards transhumanism. [3] [6] This includes designing and installing do-it-yourself body enhancements, such as magnetic implants. [3] [6] Biohacking emerged in a growing trend of non-institutional science and technology development. [7] [8] [9]
"Biohacking" can also refer to managing one's own biology using a combination of medical, nutritional, and electronic techniques. This may include the use of nootropics, nontoxic substances, and/or cybernetic devices for recording biometric data (as in the quantified self movement). [10]
Grinders largely identify with transhumanist and biopunk ideologies. [7] [11] Transhumanism is the belief that it is both possible and desirable to so fundamentally alter the human condition through the use of technologies as to inaugurate a superior post-human being. [12] [13] [14] Kara Platoni categorizes such technological modifications as "hard" biohacking, noting the desire to expand the boundaries of human perception and even create "new senses". [15] [16]
Biopunk is a techno-progressive cultural and intellectual movement that advocates open access to genetic information and espouses the liberating potential of truly democratic technological development. [17] [18] Like other punk movements, biopunk encourages the DIY ethic. [11] [19] "Grinders" adhere to an anarchist strain of biopunk that emphasizes non-hierarchical science and DIY.[ citation needed ]
Cyborgs and cyborg theory strongly influence techno-progressivism and transhumanism and are thus influential to both the DIY-bio movement and grinder movement in general. [20] Some biohackers, such as grinders and the British professor of cybernetics Kevin Warwick, actively design and implement technologies that are integrated directly into the organic body. [3] Examples of this include DIY magnetic fingertip implants or Warwick's "Project Cyborg". [3] [21] [22] Cyborg theory was kickstarted in 1985 with the publication of Donna Haraway's influential "Cyborg Manifesto" but can be traced back all the way to Manfred Clynes and Nathan Klines' article "Cyborgs and Space". [23] This body of theory criticizes the rigidity of ontological boundaries and attempts to denaturalize artificial dichotomies. [20]
Kevin Warwick is an English engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University. He is known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, and has also done research concerning robotics.
Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cognition, and well-being.
Biopunk is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on biotechnology. It is derived from cyberpunk, but focuses on the implications of biotechnology rather than mechanical cyberware and information technology. Biopunk is concerned with synthetic biology. It is derived from cyberpunk and involve bio-hackers, biotech megacorporations, and oppressive government agencies that manipulate human DNA. Most often keeping with the dark atmosphere of cyberpunk, biopunk generally examines the dark side of genetic engineering and depicts the potential perils of biotechnology.
James J. Hughes is an American sociologist, bioethicist and futurist. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and is the Associate Provost for institutional research, assessment, and planning at University of Massachusetts Boston. He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future and is currently writing a book on secular Buddhism and moral bioenhancement tentatively titled Cyborg Buddha: Using Neurotechnology to Become Better People.
Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong.
Magnetic implant is an experimental procedure in which small, powerful magnets are inserted beneath the skin, often in the tips of fingers. They exist in tubes and discs. This procedure is popular among biohackers and grinders, but remains experimental. Magnetic implants are often performed by amateurs at home, using readily available surgical tools and magnets found online. However, some professional body modification shops do perform implant surgeries. Magnetic implants can also be used as an interface for portable devices to create other new "senses", for example converting other sensory inputs such as ultrasonic or infra-red into a touch sensation. In this way the individual could 'feel' e.g. the distance to objects.
Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of questions, including ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity.
Mark N. Gasson is a British scientist and visiting research fellow at the Cybernetics Research Group, University of Reading, UK. He pioneered developments in direct neural interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, has developed brain–computer interfaces and is active in the research fields of human microchip implants, medical devices and digital identity. He is known for his experiments transmitting a computer virus into a human implant, and is credited with being the first human infected with a computer virus.
A cyborg —a portmanteau of cybernetic and organism—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. In contrast to biorobots and androids, the term cyborg applies to a living organism that has restored function or enhanced abilities due to the integration of some artificial component or technology that relies on feedback.
DIYbio is an informal umbrella organization for individuals and local groups active in do-it-yourself biology, encompassing both a website and an email list. It serves as a network of individuals from around the globe that aims to help make biology a worthwhile pursuit for citizen scientists, biohackers, amateur biologists, and do-it-yourself biological engineers who value openness and safety. It was founded by Jason Bobe and Mackenzie Cowell in 2008.
Do-it-yourself biology is a biotechnological social movement in which individuals, communities, and small organizations study biology and life science using the same methods as traditional research institutions. DIY biology is primarily undertaken by individuals with limited research training from academia or corporations, who then mentor and oversee other DIY biologists with little or no formal training. This may be done as a hobby, as a not-for-profit endeavor for community learning and open-science innovation, or for profit, to start a business.
Wetware is a term drawn from the computer-related idea of hardware or software, but applied to biological life forms.
A human microchip implant is any electronic device implanted subcutaneously (subdermally) usually via an injection. Examples include an identifying integrated circuit RFID device encased in silicate glass which is implanted in the body of a human being. This type of subdermal implant usually contains a unique ID number that can be linked to information contained in an external database, such as identity document, criminal record, medical history, medications, address book, and other potential uses.
Transhumanist politics constitutes a group of political ideologies that generally express the belief in improving human individuals through science and technology. Specific topics include space migration, and cryogenic suspension. It is considered the opposing ideal to the concept of bioconservatism, as Transhumanist politics argue for the use of all technology to enhance human individuals.
Tim Cannon is an American software developer, entrepreneur, and biohacker based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best known as Chief Information Officer of Grindhouse Wetware, a biotechnology startup company that creates technology to augment human capabilities. Grindhouse was co-founded by Cannon and Shawn Sarver in 2012. Cannon himself has had a variety of body modification implants, and has been referred to in the media as a cyborg.
Grindhouse Wetware is an open source biotechnology startup company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Grindhouse applies the biohacker ethic to create technology that augments human capabilities. The company is most well known for their Circadia device, a wireless biometric sensor that was implanted into co-founder Tim Cannon on the 22 October 2013. Grindhouse has been featured in television shows such as Taboo on National Geographic Channel, Joe Rogan Questions Everything on Syfy, The Big Picture with Kal Penn, as well as podcasts including Future Grind and Roderick Russell's Remarkably Human.
To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death is a 2017 nonfiction book by Slate columnist and literary journalist Mark O'Connell, his debut work. Published by Granta, the book is a breezy, but skeptical, gonzo-journalistic tour of transhumanism and radical life extension. It chronicles O'Connell's travels around the world to interview prominent transhumanists.
Aaron James Traywick was an American businessman and life extension activist in the transhumanism and biohacking communities. He sought to develop gene therapies to make inexpensive treatments available for incurable conditions such as AIDS and the herpes simplex virus. His lack of any medical training and his unconventional methods—such as broadcasting an associate injecting himself with an "untested experimental gene therapy", then later doing the same to himself in an onstage public demonstration—drew widespread criticism.
Anastasia Synn is a Canadian sideshow stunt performer and magician, as well as a transhumanist and biohacker. She is known for her cyborg rights activism. She was married to magician and comedian the Amazing Johnathan, whom she also managed, until his death on February 22, 2022.
Immortality or Bust is a 2019 feature documentary focusing on the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign of Transhumanist Party nominee Zoltan Istvan. Directed by Daniel Sollinger, it won two awards at film festivals - the Breakout Award at the 2019 Raw Science Film Festival and Best Biohacking Awareness Documentary at the GeekFest Toronto 2021. It is distributed by Gravitas Ventures.
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