Scientists are developing an electronic eye implant which they believe could help millions of people to see again. According to BBC, "the microchip works by stimulating cells around the retina. This in turn stimulates cells in the brain, helping people to see once more". Essentially, when light strikes the technology, it is converted into electrical signals that travel through the optic nerve to the brain and are interpreted as an image.
In "Post Colonial Media Theory," Maria Fernandez expresses her idea that in the future, "fleshed humans have evolved to greater integration with machines" and flesh becomes unnecessary and important. More recent developments to the project have led to the development of a Multiple-unit Artificial Retinal Chipset (MARC), in which, "a spectacle-mounted camera takes video that is then processed and transmitted into the eye by radio". The camera is attached to a special pair of glasses. These eye prosthetics make Fernandez's hypothetical flesh-less future a more plausible reality.
If today we can harness the power of technology to perform such a complex bodily function, such as sight, what will tomorrow's advancements bring? Furthermore, the idea that one's body is full of microchips, cameras, and radio receivers begs the question who is in control of your body. Is it still the person? Will people be able to tap into the radio signals and produce false images?
Conspiracy theories aside, it is a great medical achievement. However, the implications go far beyond medicine and into a future where our bodies run on technology.
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