Until almost twenty years ago, Neil Harbisson saw the world in black, white and gray because of achromatopsia. But everything changed when he had an electronic eye, or “eyeborg,” implanted in his skull. Now he can perceive colors, not by seeing them, but by hearing them. Recognized by Guinness World Records as the first official “cyborg artist,” Harbisson demonstrates the transformative power of technology.
A “cyborg” is a being enhanced by computer implants or mechanical body parts. Harbisson, based in Spain, became a cyborg to overcome his color blindness. For the past few years, he has been able to “hear” visible and invisible wavelengths of light. An antenna-like sensor implanted in his head translates different wavelengths into vibrations, which he perceives as sound.
“At first I had to memorize the color notes, but then it became a perception and the perception became a feeling, then like everyone else I started to have my favorite colors and I started to dream in color,” Harbisson said in his 2012 TED Talk, standing on stage in a cobalt blue shirt, pink coat and yellow pants. “Today I’m dressed in C major,” he joked. “That’s quite a happy pairing!”
Harbisson’s life is unimaginable for those who live with normal senses. Unlike most people, the cyborg listens to paintings and eats songs. He hears people’s faces and draws sound portraits. However, his mysterious experience is not something supernatural, rather it stems from futuristic technology that helped him become a cyborg.
Harbisson has a device implanted in his skull, which is essentially a camera that captures colors and translates them into sound frequencies through bone conduction. In his unique world, each color has a corresponding musical note: red is F, orange is F sharp, G is yellow, C is blue, A is green, and B minor is a mix of turquoise, purple and orange. He listens to Warhols and Pantones, paints with sounds, and writes music based on what he sees.
He was born in Northern Ireland, completely color blind, suffering from achromatopsia, a rare disease which limited him to the point of only being able to see in grayscale. Later in his childhood, he moved to Barcelona and grew up obsessed with colors and things he couldn’t feel. So he designed this device with an antenna to overcome its limitations. It was in 2003 when he collaborated with Adam Montandon, associate professor of innovation at Denmark’s Erhvervsakademiet Lillebælt Institute. Together they created a revolutionary device called the “eyeborg”.
Attached to the wearer’s head, the eyeborg converts light waves (colors) into sound waves. Thanks to this, Harbisson can hear colors. In 2004, he had his skull bone drilled and this device was installed inside. As the bone grew, it covered the device and the chip attached to it. “My mother was very scared and she didn’t like it,” Harbisson recalled, according to Guinness World Records. But once he did, his whole life changed and his perception changed. While humans normally hear by “air conduction” with sound waves passing through the outer and middle ears and vibrating the inner eardrum, Harbisson hears by “bone conduction.” Vibrations from his skull are transmitted to his inner ear.
The device in his skull also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, allowing him to receive images, videos, music or phone calls directly into his head. Additionally, it can detect ultra-high and low frequencies, such as UV and infrared light, with its electronic eye.
The eyeborg, however, cannot be turned off, meaning he constantly receives audible vibrations in his head. “It’s like the smell; we still smell, we still hear, we still taste, so I still feel the color too,” he explained, adding that the only way to stop it is to cover the sensor. Flowers are sometimes too loud, he said.
Although he wears this unconventional device on his head, he is absolutely comfortable in his skin and does not feel disturbed in any way: “There is no difference between the software and my brain, or between my antenna and any other part of the body. Being united with cybernetics makes me feel like technology,” he told National Geographic.
As the world’s first cyborg, Harbisson co-founded the Cyborg Foundation in 2010, which he described as “a platform to help people become cyborgs.” “We connect people so they can build teams to create new organs, and we also advocate for cyborgs as a cultural group,” he said. Even though he considers himself a transhuman, he believes that everyone has the freedom to design their life in their own way.
When asked how his personal experience changed after having this device sewn into his brain, he replied: “My understanding of the world became deeper. The more you expand your senses, the more you realize it exists. If you stay in the same house for years, there is a repetition of what you perceive there. But if you add new meaning, the house becomes new again. Harbisson added that with this revolutionary device, he can connect more deeply with nature.
He added that technological augmentation is a natural, and perhaps even necessary, strategy for humans to adapt to an uncertain future. He also thinks this type of technology has a promising future: “Imagine something like an earring that could give you a 360-degree perception of your surroundings, and maybe it could vibrate to tell you that someone ‘one is behind you. It’s strange to me that such simple things don’t happen. » In addition to his multiple projects, Harbisson also collaborated with Vodafone to create software that would capture the vibrant blues, greens and oranges of Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica, according to Wired.