Data analysis and information gathering are always important bases of today modern technology. But what if those informations come right out from our bodies? A group of so-called Bio-Hackers plugged themself with sophisticated measurement devices, wiring their body with sensors and cables, collecting data about their habits and activities. A modern saga of old cyberpunkers or a new branch of the transhumanism movement, but that’s just the beginning.
Quantifying ourself.
Who are the Body Hackers? Despite the name may sound quite fictional, it instead fits really well to this growing group of people. In late May they held a conference in California discussing about the impact of self-quantification on society. They even have a website where all interested people can share thoughts and ideas, discovering new forms of self-tracking and data analysys.
What they’re basically trying to do is to pull out a large amount of information from their life-activity at the body level. Weight, exercise habits, calorie intake, sleep patterns. Everything is quantified and graphed for post-process analysis. Although this might sound a bit fancy, the hidden potential might tremendously overtake the market in the years to come.
Benefits and Risks
The medical community has shown a particular interest in the self-quantifiers world. The main idea infact, is that doctors could gather high customized informations about a patient, and formulate a diagnosis which might save a life in all those cases where a common treatment could cause unwanted side effects or even death.
At this point, there are several controvertial aspects and possible risks to take into account. The main question infact, is how important could be sharing these informations on the net? What if ordinary people would start tracking themself and deploying huge loads of sensible data? The matter is full of questions and few answers, and the number of those who think that privacy is extremely at risk is greater everyday.
It’s not hard to imagine how critical data security could be, trying not to expose all of this informations to potential hacker attacks, or at worse, to marketing companies. But the Body Hackers keep going forward, continuing their researches and experiments and liking to be seen as pioneers of a new era. At the moment, their Think Tanks are quite active over the US territory and sooner or later Europe will follow.
Resources
The Quantified Self Website
The original Financial Times article by April Dembosky
Source
Financial Times
