Superhuman News 🤖 - Implanting your own brain

Hi there,

‘I know how improbable it sounds, but it’s true!’

I had a Zoom call with TSN, a company that provides home care in The Netherlands. They were looking for a speaker for a webinar for all their employees on healthcare technology.

Simone and Jannine from TSN asked if I knew their organization. ‘Yes, I used to work for you. As a domestic help, as a side job when I was studying.’

With all the speakers and trainers they’ve had, they’d never heard that.

But that was not all: ‘My mother is a colleague of yours. She is a nurse in the city of Hoogezand.’

They almost fell off their seats. ‘Willy is your mother? Really? Yes, your last name was familiar to us, but we did not expect this at all!’

The webinar was a blast. And my mother? She was really proud.

For now: let’s continue with the newsletter. Enjoy reading!

–Peter Joosten

My average work week is quite diverse. If there are upcoming lectures or webinars, I prepare them. I also make videos, podcasts, write articles or update older pieces on my site.

Last week, in my research for a new article on cyborgs (online soon) and updating the piece on Neuralink, I came across this bizarre story in Wired about Phil Kennedy.

Kennedy pioneered the field of brain-computer interfaces and brain implants. To force a breakthrough, he was looking for a healthy person. Unable to find anyone, he decided to experiment on himself. He flew to Belize (the operation was banned in the US), but that didn’t end well. The obvious lesson: experimenting on yourself, especially in your brain, is not without risks.

Must read!

Also watch my update on Neuralink and their work on brain-computer interfaces:

💊 Imperial College London investigated the effects of microdosing with LSD. Their conclusion: the benefits seem to be experienced by users through placebo.

🐮 Biohackers in Australia are developing an implant to track the heart rate, temperature and movements of cows. This story by Alex Pearlman states that they see livestock as an ideal testing ground for their ultimate goal: humans.

📱 Tim O'Reilly announces the end of Silicon Valley in his column. At least as we know it now. Causes: different skills are needed for biotechnology, stricter legislation and the climate crisis as the most urgent problems.

📕 I read the book The Mutant Project by Eben Kirksey. What drove scientist Jianku He to be the first to genetically modify embryos? After reading this book I spoke to the author: watch the interview.

🎧 The podcast Tomorrow’s Monsters is a cool fictional story about a supplement that makes you no longer need sleep. Actor John Boyega (Star Wars) plays one of the lead roles.

🎬 The documentary Citizen Bio follows the last months of the late Aaron Traywick, a radical biohacker and entrepreneur. The story made me think about the purpose of his company and his own motives.

These are upcoming events where I will give a talk. Great to see you there!

Here you can find more information about my keynotes and webinars.