A UK professor, who plans to have an electronic implant surgically connected to his nervous system, has said humans must merge with technology to escape future domination by intelligent machines.
Dr Kevin Warwick said it may be possible to "technically upgrade" humans for the species to "move forward and evolve".
Prof Warwick, of the University of Reading, is speaking today on "Cyborgs and the potential for thought communication" at a conference at NUI Maynooth.
He believes humans will eventually be able to communicate by thought, using implanted technology, escaping the often "stifling" confines of language.
Next November he plans to have a chip implanted in his arm, which will link his nervous system with a computer, to investigate how his movements - and, possibly, his emotions - can be remotely controlled by a computer.
In 1998, Prof Warwick had a chip implanted in his arm for nine days, which allowed his movements to be monitored in his university building, and turned on lights and opened doors as he approached.
If humans evolve "technologically", will cyborgs view humans as equals? Prof Warwick uses the analogy of humans and chimpanzees.
"You have evolved further than a chimpanzee. So would you vote for a chimpanzee? As a cyborg, would you do what a human tells you?"