The Digital Human

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Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Aleks Krotoski explores the digital world

BBC Radio 4 FM

The Digital Human: Series 26: Implant

Implant

Series 26

BBC Radio 4 - The Digital Human, Series 26, Implant

Aleks Krotoski asks how far we can trust digital technology implanted in our bodies.

Imagine surgically implanting a smart device to sense, monitor and respond to a health condition. Aleks Krotoski asks how far we can trust digital technology inside our bodies.

Imagine being able to fix a malfunction in your body with a programmable smart device implanted deep inside your body… The device senses, monitors and responds to your condition in real time and provides updates and analysis on your phone.

In the past few years, we’ve seen a boom in health apps and wearable smart devices offering personalised and real time analysis of our daily lives. It’s one thing putting on a wearable smart device - but what does it take to trust one implanted inside your body?

From continuous glucose monitoring for diabetics to invasive surgery implanting electrodes on the spinal cord or in the brain, Aleks Krotoski asks how a closer relationship with implanted health technology can affect our trust; from our faith in device functionality, security, and longevity, to our trust of ourselves, be it our agency, identity and intuition to read our own bodies.

Produced by Jac Phillimore

The Digital Human: Series 26

BBC Radio 4

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The Digital Human

Series 26

Implant

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