Transhumanist Biohacker Attempts to Become ‘Posthuman’ with 50 Chip Implants

(by Daniel Cáceres and Nathan Rennolds | Business Insider) – A transhumanist has spent the last 14 years implanting over 50 chips, antennae, and magnets into their body to become a cyborg.

Lepht Anonym has carried out these operations with no anesthetic and no guarantee of safety.

“I’d like to say I did it because I follow a grand tradition of self-experimenters in science, or that it was because practical transhumanism is more than a philosophy to me (it’s my life), but at least partly, I did it for kicks. I just wanted more senses; still do,” Anonym wrote in their blog, Sapiens Anonymous.

“Lepht Anonym is a faceless, genderless British biohacker. It lacks both gods and money, and likes people, science, and practical transhumanism,” they also wrote.

Some will label them a cyborg, but to transhumanists, they’re “posthuman.”

For now, Anonym prefers another term — a “grinder,” meaning a hybrid of both human and machine.

Transhumanism is about “optimizing” the human body

Transhumanism is a movement that aims to transform the human condition by developing technologies that enhance physical, psychological, and intellectual capabilities — a posthuman is someone who is able to achieve this transformation.

The roots of transhumanism can be found in cyberpunk literature.

If you’re not familiar with novels from this genre, you may be familiar with its movies or video games, like “Blade Runner” or “Cyberpunk 2077.”

On Anonym’s blog, they mention “Neuromancer” as the first book they loved, a science fiction novel by William Gibson. It portrays a future in which technology has had an impact, often negative, on the social and/or cultural paradigm.

The movement has its own jargon, which you may have seen already in this article. For example, Lepht considers themself a biohacker, a biohacker being someone who modifies their body using tech in order to make it function differently.

Anonym describes themself as a practical transhumanist. Some transhumanists prefer to stick to the theoretical side of the movement, but Anonym uses chips, antennae, and other devices to actually “hack” their biological systems.

More than 50 painful operations

On their blog, Lepht keeps a record of their surgical implants. The first was in 2007 when, with the help of a friend, they inserted a chip into their hand so they could use their palm to pay instead of a credit card.

The operations are extremely painful, and since doctors won’t help, they can’t use anesthetic. Anonym doesn’t mind the pain, however.

All their operations have had two goals — to find out what devices can help humans go beyond their physical and mental limits and to improve themself if possible. Read Full Article >