THE HINDU: Kevin Warwick, professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, UK, is popularly known as the world’s first cyborg.

The original cyborg

Prof. Warwick’s landmark experiments since 1998 resulted in connecting human nervous systems (his own and that of his wife, Irene Warwick, for instance) with computer networks. Since then, his work has extended to artificial intelligence, control, robotics and biomedical engineering. Is there a common thread that links these apparently disparate fields of interest? “My interest in all these fields is shaped by an abiding interest in intelligence,” says Prof. Warwick.

He asks: how can we, for instance, harness artificial intelligence…