IN THE FUTURE, teachers will be directly connected to students and there'll no longer be any need for exams. Information will travel seamlessly to and from the brains and nervous systems of everybody in the classroom in a neural network that could even be extended using computers and the internet. Most people would consider this the stuff of science fiction, but Professor Kevin Warwick disagrees. He believes the technology may already exist in embryonic form, needing only the bravery and vision of creative scientists to make it reality. Warwick does more than talk the talk. As professor of cybernetics at the UK's University of Reading, he is world-famous for his commitment to his specialist field of artificial intelligence and robotics. He gained notoriety in 1998 by having a silicon chip transponder surgically implanted in his left arm. 'Machines are phenomenally powerful,' he said. 'There are important differences in human and machine intelligence and I am interested in the possibilities of linking the two. Humans already alter the brain using substances like alcohol, why not electronically as well?' Four years after the first, a more sophisticated implant, this time fired pneumatically into his nervous system, demonstrated that electro-chemical brain signals can be translated into mechanical movement and vice versa. Not only was Warwick able to manipulate a robotic hand simply by moving his own - even from over 3,500 miles away over the internet - but also receive feedback from the hand directly through his nervous system to his brain telling him how hard it was gripping. He sees developments in cybernetics as falling into two main strands. The first is helping those who have medical difficulties. He is involved in several projects. Currently working at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University for three months as part of a year's sabbatical, Warwick is liaising with the Rehabilitation Department to explore ways to help stroke patients. There is growing evidence that mechanically altering the way the brain connects and interacts with the body can lead to remarkable progress in dealing with debilitating conditions. 'The potential for e-medicine is enormous,' he said. 'It gives fresh hope to people with epilepsy, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's Disease.' But he does not want to stop there. 'Why can't we give ourselves extra abilities? There is no reason why we as humans can't upgrade what we are able to do. By talking to computers we might be able to take advantage of the fact that they do things extremely quickly and can abstractly think in up to 12 dimensions and beyond. The possibilities are endless.' Warwick's enthusiasm is infectious. He wants children to be as excited about science as he is. 'I want to open their minds to what is possible,' he told an audience of about 60 invited teachers at the British Council recently. 'Scientists change the world. They create new visions of the future and help people. It is the most wonderful thing imaginable.' But he is not convinced that most current educational methods are necessarily effective. 'Science education in the UK and elsewhere could be a lot better. Some national curricula are still based on learning equations and passing exams. Science is all about doing experiments. There may be no definite answer to a problem. If you get a strange result, try and find out why. 'It's important to look at the world around us and have fun. Find out how it works and how we can change things for the better.' He feels students need to broaden their focus and enter a university course with at least one non-science subject. He speaks from personal experience about the limitations. 'I was helping my own daughter with her A-level physics and I had to give up. It was so boring.' To counteract this he showed his British Council audience a video of a primary school project that ended with children competing with obvious energy to programme their own simple robots using sensors to negotiate a simple course. 'Children use a fresh approach,' he said. 'We saw children busily pinching ideas from each other all day. But that happens generally and with real scientists, learning from each other. These children will change the future.' Learning can be a painful process. Warwick tells the story of how he tried to guide a large, red robot called Roger around a half-marathon course using an infrared transmitter attached to his belt. 'The first mile was OK, but then Roger spotted the sun and decided to hurtle off towards it and crashed. It was a bit embarrassing, but I suppose it was at least the first recorded example of a robot with an athletic injury.' He is aware that there are potential negatives. His vision is not shared by all. 'Of course there are ethical and moral considerations,' he said. 'Everything can be used for bad purposes. Take nuclear power, for instance.' He was recently asked by parents in the UK to develop a tracking device for children to help prevent abductions following a high-profile murder case. Some other eminent scientists also take a different perspective on his work. Warwick quotes Professor Peter Fromherz of the Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry who said: 'Connecting humans and computers is science fiction. It is beyond the scope of science.' But Warwick is undaunted. He is working with a multidisciplinary team to help develop the technology and techniques that may one day lead to electronic systems predicted by US professor and visionary Norbert Wiener in the 1940s called 'Nervous Prostheses' that would allow those with spinal injuries to control their paralysed limbs using signals detected in their brain. Such research should stand on its own merits, according to Warwick, who believes funding can be raised from a range of sources if projects are worthwhile. He does not believe that taxpayers' money should be used either indiscriminately or without accountability. 'Research should live or die by how good you are. If it's good enough, go out and prove you're good enough to deserve it,' he said. To that end Warwick is no stranger to publicity. He has made numerous appearances on television around the world and has written three popular science books explaining his ideas. 'Science needs a good press. Kids can be put off if they think science is just boring. The space race inspired lots of people in the past. Perhaps China's first astronaut will do the same for Hong Kong.' Media pundits have referred to Warwick at various times as the Bionic Man and Captain Cyborg. And while he claims not to seek the limelight, he is an accomplished public speaker - not generally regarded as a typical trait of scientists - peppering his delivery with one-liners, witty asides and wry humour. Some might take Warwick as a role-model, but he warns of the dangers. Each of his implants is becoming increasingly complex and dangerous. In about 11 years time he intends to take a crucial further step in the science of control using thoughts by having a brain implant. 'I will have had a good life by then, so I will have less to lose.' He prefers to refer more modestly to his own hero, 'Michael Faraday was criticised in his day. But look at him, he changed the world. He enjoyed talking to kids. If I could turn just one youngster on to science, then that would do it for me,' he said.
