Hybrid Humans (Hardback)

£14.99

A gripping, eye-opening account of how robotics, computing and AI might be about to alter our understanding of what it means to be human – from the bestselling author of Anatomy of a Soldier

SKU: 9781788163101

Description

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 BARBELLION PRIZE*

As heard on BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week
As seen on Sky Arts Book Club with Elizabeth Day and Andi Oliver

An eye-opening account of disability, identity and how robotics and AI are altering our understanding of what it means to be human – from the bestselling author of Anatomy of a Soldier

Harry Parker's life changed overnight when he lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan. His rehabilitation took him into an often surprising landscape of a very human kind of hacking, and he wondered – are all humans becoming hybrids?

Whether it's putting on contact lenses every day or DIY biohackers tinkering in garages, Parker introduces us to the exhilarating breadth of human invention – and intervention.

Grappling with his own new identity and disability, he discovers the latest robotics, tech and implants that might lead us to powerful, liberating possibilities for what a body can be.

"I loved Hybrid Humans. It is modest, wise … and a way of looking at the future without nostalgia for the past" – Jeanette Winterson

"This may be a tour of the scientific avant garde, but the focus is always on the human heart and mind" Observer, Book of the Day

"Harry Parker has explored the cutting edge of interaction between humanity, computing and AI … a captivating and cautionary travel guide to a new world" – Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human Being