Neil Harbisson, the world's first 'cyborgist' (cyborg artist) claims that as his passport photo shows him with his head antenna, it means that the British Government accepts that the device is part of him! He also said that it's high time that the governments should accept that some people will be "part-technology, part-human" in the future.

A colour concert by Neil Harbisson

Colour-blind Neil Harbisson made the declaration to crowds at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

What is a 'cyborg'?

A 'cyborg' is someone whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal by mechanical elements built into the body.

What happened at at World Government Summit, Dubai (WGS 2018)

The World Government Summit is a forum for government leaders to discuss innovation, technology, and futurism and is held annually in Dubai. More than 4,000 people from 140 countries and 16 international organizations attended WGS 2018. There were 130 speakers across 120 sessions of whom Harbisson was one.

Harbisson told Emirates News Agency at the Summit on Tuesday:

I have an antenna that is implanted inside my head, which allows me to extend my perception of reality beyond the visual spectrum. I can sense infrared and ultraviolet, and I also have Internet connection in my head that allows me to receive colors from other parts of the world, or connect to satellite so I can send colors from space.

According to The Mirror, he added:

I came here to talk about how there will be more humans considering themselves to be cybernetic or to be cyborgs, how we will see people with organic and cybernetic body parts in the future and how governments should slowly accept these changes, that some of their citizens will also be part technology and part human.

Harbisson believes that there will be more "cybernetic people," or cyborgs, in the future with organic and robotic body parts. Governments should start to "slowly accept these changes" as their citizens will be part-technology and part-human, he said, as reported by RT News.

Who is Neil Harbisson?

Harbisson's exhibition

Neil was born colour-blind and in 2004, he got an antenna implanted inside his head that lets him perceive colours via sound waves as a 'cure' to his problem

The sensor that dangles over the top of his head translates light waves into vibrations that he his brain has learned to decode

The 33-year-old artist's passport size photo has the electronic device on his head, and following a row over the document with the authorities, he has finally been considered the first officially recognized cyborg

"I see this as a body part, not a device, but as an organ," he said at the summit. "And I don't wear an antenna, I have an antenna. So I see this as part of me."

Harbisson is a co-founder of the Cyborg Society and the Transpecies Society. These are organisations which represent people who identify as non-human.

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