Customer Reviews
An interesting read - but not much science - By: Fluff, 21 Jul 2008 
Basically I agree with Matthew N Palmers review. I agree that the author doesn't paint a particularly good picture of himself. I also found the scientific info presented was fairly lacking, so I didn't have a clear picture of what was actually going onin some of the experiments. However, whilst I was a bit disappointed with the lack of depth on the science side of things, the book was interesting as an autobiographical text & also as a reminder that "cybernetic"/AI/robotic technologies (not just specifically implant - whichin itself isn't a new technology) are "on their way" from science fiction, well into the here & now.
A specific point I'd make is: The author saysin the book how frustrated he got with people saying he hadn't really achieved anything. Yetin 300 pages, I personally felt he hadn't countered this argument very well. Implant technology exists & ops take place routinely, radio transmission technology exists, internets & data acquisition by computer are old technologies. The author bolted them together & tested to see if they worked. Of course they worked. Why wouldn't they? It seems to me (perhaps I'm mistaken) that the only novel technology here is the nerve interface (in human) & then the novel data was that info recorded via the interface.
A lot of the other stuff detracted or confused what was being achieved. There was a lot of old science incorporated into this book..... Once the transducer has got the signal from the neuron, then it's just the same as any electrical signal. You don't need to perform an experiment to see if the transducer can control a light, a wheelchair etc. because you know the answer to this already. This stuff was more about demonstration than experimentation. I'm not saying that these demonstrations weren't valuable, I just think that they actually clouded the more experimental science done which was : The capture (and interpretation) of nerve signal information by means of a direct electrical interface into a nerve.
As I said, whilst the author doesn't come across as the sort of person you'd want to be down the pub with, I did enjoy reading his about his drive & his frustrations achieving his goal so as an interesting biog rather than an informing science book, I'd give it 3 stars.
Don't waste your time or money - By: alphix, 05 Feb 2004 
I wish I could give this book no stars. As a programmer I was hoping this book would tell me what the current state of play is within the field of robotics.
Could someone please tell me what is so wonderful about transmitting muscle signals across the internet as opposed to sending them across a LAN? After all, the signals are just IP packets. Did he do it just for the publicity/money? I believe that's the justification Kevin Warwick would give. He talks a lot about the funds he's obtaining for his 'research'. I realise I'm just a humble techy & I may misunderstand his motives but I wonder how research consisting of attaching a chip to a nervein your arm compares to creating the relational model (Codd) or teasing out the information contained within DNA sequences. The chipin the arm stunt may give joe public a buzz & make the front page of the Sun, but class it as research/pushing forward the frontiers of science? I think not.
If I decide to study for a PhD I certainly won't be applying to any departments headed by Kevin Warwick.
I, Cyborg. - By: , 10 Aug 2003 I found this book very boring. It did tell a story but it was a tired one. It did not go into enough detail about the implant etc. for me- I wanted more than I already knew from the media. It was more about his family life than cybernetics.
Self Serving. - By: Matthew N Palmer, 30 Dec 2002 This book says very little of any consequence about the technology or the social dimensions of this intriguing subject (human - machine direct interfacing), but rather spends most of the time on how Mr. Warwick managed the media & publicity machine that accompanied his recent cyborg experiments.
His comments on being continuously spied upon by a Big Brother system are naive beyond belief (It's OK, because we'd use it for nice things rather than nasty things) - no serious discussion of how these technologies impact on privacy, or of other technologies with which they could be combined to ensure anonymity & privacy, such as cryptosystems, zero knowledge proofs, etc. etc.
The technology itself is barely described, & no framework is developed for thinking about the cyborgisation (if that's the correct word to use) of humanity, either as it stands right now or how it may develop into the future.
An ultimately unsatisfying, self serving, & disappointing book from someone who is living at the frontier of this technology. A missed opportunity.
Amazing!! - By: Hathor, 03 Sep 2002 
An enlightening account of Professor Warwick's journey from mere human to omnipotent cyborg -- starting with his childhood inspirations & concluding with a cute piece of fiction -- a prophecy, perhaps?
