Where Man and Machine Will Meet
From: Irish Times (Ireland) - 04/29/2011
By: Marie Boran 

University of Reading professor Kevin Warwick envisions a future in which
people will use technology to transcend humanity by becoming cyborgs. Warwick
has already taken a step in this direction by having electrodes surgically
attached to nerve fibers in his arm, allowing two-way communication between
his brain and a computer. He also has a chip implanted in his arm that
interacts with smart buildings to open doors and turn on lights, among other
things. Warwick believes that humans will inevitably use technology in this
manner for self-enhancement. He has conceived of advances that include the
growth of human brain cells in a robot body and the termination of the
university education model in favor of direct data downloads into the brain.
"Some people are upset because it takes science fiction into science life,"
Warwick says. "Some philosophers get angry at me for testing the nature of
human/robot consciousness. All I ask for is an open mind."  

Read the entire article at:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0429/1224295676404.html

Links:
Kevin Warwick
http://www.kevinwarwick.com/

Robot with a rat brain (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk