Mark Gasson
Encyclopedia
Mark Gasson is a British
scientist and senior research fellow at the Cybernetic Intelligence Research Group, University of Reading
, UK
. He pioneered developments in direct interfaces between computer
systems and the human nervous system
, is active in the research fields of robotics
and identity
and pursues many public engagement in science activities. In 2010 he claimed to be the first human to be infected with a computer virus
following experiments showing the potential vulnerabilities of implantable technology including an RFID device he had implanted a year previously. Some computer scientists commented that the only distinction between Gasson's "infection" and someone carrying a smartphone
compromised by malicious software is that Gasson put the electronics in question under his skin. However the focus of Gasson's research is to highlight that with implanted devices you cannot simply separate the human and the technology that easily - many people with implanted medical devices consider them to be a part of their body and so Gasson raises the issues of whether implanted technology should receive the same protection against abuse and interference as the biological body.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
scientist and senior research fellow at the Cybernetic Intelligence Research Group, University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He pioneered developments in direct interfaces between computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
systems and the human nervous system
Nervous system
The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...
, is active in the research fields of robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
and identity
Identity (object-oriented programming)
An identity in object-oriented programming, object-oriented design and object-oriented analysis describes the property of objects that distinguishes them from other objects. This is closely related to the philosophical concept of identity....
and pursues many public engagement in science activities. In 2010 he claimed to be the first human to be infected with a computer virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
following experiments showing the potential vulnerabilities of implantable technology including an RFID device he had implanted a year previously. Some computer scientists commented that the only distinction between Gasson's "infection" and someone carrying a smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
compromised by malicious software is that Gasson put the electronics in question under his skin. However the focus of Gasson's research is to highlight that with implanted devices you cannot simply separate the human and the technology that easily - many people with implanted medical devices consider them to be a part of their body and so Gasson raises the issues of whether implanted technology should receive the same protection against abuse and interference as the biological body.