When Technology Gets Personal
From: BBC News - 12/06/2004
By: Jo Twist

BT futurologist Ian Pearson foresees a "pervasive ambient world" where people
are surrounded by or perhaps even physically integrated with intelligent
objects. Smart fabrics and textiles developed through breakthroughs in micro-
and nano-engineering are already on the market: Anti-odor socks and
stain-resistant seats no longer exist solely in the realm of science fiction
thanks to the development of nanoscale titanium oxide coatings; MP3 jackets
in which conductive fabric is linked to keyboards sewn into sleeves are now
commercially available; and tiny structures modeled after shark skin have
been incorporated into professional swimming suits to reduce drag. Pearson
says this is only the tip of the iceberg, and speculates potential future
advances such as wearable technology that runs on body heat and intelligent
electronic contact lenses that can operate as TV screens. However,
neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield warned at a recent Royal Society of
London conference that such technology carries with it significant ethical
questions. Wearable and implantable communication and monitoring devices must
address the issue of privacy, which Pearson considers to be of paramount
importance. "We are looking at electronics which are really in deep contact
with your body and a lot of that information you really don't want every
passer-by to know," he comments, noting that security must be built in.
Baroness Greenfield points out that the fusion of technology and biology
could also dramatically alter the way the human brain functions. For
instance, successful attempts to grow human nerve cells on circuit boards
have demonstrated the potential of an implanted neural human-computer
interface for paralytics. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4059011.stm
http://www.sirc.org/about/susan_greenfield.html
http://www.discover.com/issues/sep-03/departments/featdialogue