Radical Beauty: Meet The People Implanting Themselves With Technology

Technology In Humans Biohackers – people who seek to augment their bodies’ capabilities with implantable technology – brings a whole new meaning to “self-improvement.“ Biohacking is the idea of...

Technology In Humans

Biohackers – people who seek to augment their bodies’ capabilities with implantable technology – brings a whole new meaning to “self-improvement.“ Biohacking is the idea of applying the hacker ethos to biology – implantable technology that overcomes biological limitations. The North Star implant can be used to backlight tattoos, used in choreographed dance routines, but is mostly an aesthetic implant at this point. In 2013, Tim Cannon, one of the cofounders of Grindhouse Wetware, had a Cicadia 1.0 implanted into his arm without any professional medical assistance. Version two of this implant will include gesture recognition, to allow you to control internet things connected to devices with the wave of the hand.

The process of having an implant put in is extremely painful. They are cutting your skin open in order to insert the device underneath. Biomagnets are one of the most popular types of bio hacking. Typically, the person has a small disc shaped magnet inserted in a fingertip under the skin. When the person encounters a magnetic field, the magnet is meant to stimulate tactile nerve endings. One implant wearer feels that having the magnet is a physical representation of curiosity and is a way to experience the world in a new way. RFID and NFC implants usually have this rectangular shaped desk inserted on the back of the hand. The technology in these implants can be used for identification, as well as potentially replacing our keys and passwords someday.