Cybiosis

From Pacemakers to Wearables: Exploring Cybiosis in Technology

As tech gets smarter and more integrated into our lives, we need a measure to precisely describe and compare different technologies’ impact on users.

Imagine if, in chemistry, you didn't have the word "viscosity." Every time you wanted to describe a substance like molasses, you would have to enumerate multiple physical attributes to convey how viscous it was.

In my last post (The Human Machine Interface (HMI) Spectrum), I addressed a significant gap in neurotech- the lack of a framework for comparing technologies by both quality and usability. In this post, we will fill this gap with a new adjective: Cybiosis.

What is Cybiosis?

“Cybiosis" describes the degree of integration between humans and technology.

Derived from “symbiosis,” which describes the relationship between two living species, “cybiosis” considers the interactions between biological humans and their technology (sometimes referred to collectively as Cyborgs).

Cybiosis is a spectrum, with high cybiosis referring to closer integration between humans and technology, and low cybiosis referring to poorer integration.

Steve Mann, often thought of as the Father of Wearable Computing and a serial HMI founder, wearing his own device. Photo taken from his UofT profile: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/meet-steve-mann-father-wearable-computing.

Understanding Cybiosis

Cybiosis measures how well a technology integrates with humans, considering physical, economic, social, and emotional factors.

• High Cybiosis: a technology that is affordable, seamlessly integrated, easy to use (‘set and forget’), that adds significant value to your daily life

• Low Cybiosis: a technology which is expensive, difficult (or annoying) to use, complicated, irregularly useful, or fails to add value to your daily life

Factors Influencing Cybiosis

Two major categories are crucial for assessing and evaluating HMIs: Data and Adoptability.

• Data:

  • Quality: Is the signal clean and reliable?

  • Usability: Does this actually solve a problem and add value?

• Adoptability:

  • User Experience: Consider cost, comfort, portability, effort, and the ability to use the technology independently.

  • Scalability: A solution must be applicable to a larger population, not just designed for one person.

    • Designing a perfect device for one person only helps that one person. Ideally, you can achieve the same individual advantages in a technology you can apply to a larger population.

Optimal, high cybiosis solutions will have great data quality, exceptional usefulness, operate without active user effort, and be affordable.

Examples of Cybiosis

High Cybiosis

A pacemaker is a high cybiosis technology which is safe, widespread, adds enormous value, and is generally comfortable for the user. The user does not have to engage with or even think about the pacemaker for it to do its job, even when it saves the user’s life. Although it requires surgery for implantation, the procedure is common and proven to be safe, and the device lasts a long time with limited maintenance needed.

Medium Cybiosis

A diabetes continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with an automatic insulin pump is a good example of a medium cybiosis solution. These systems are affordable, scalable, usable across large populations, portable, semi-automatic, and make a massive difference in user’s lives. This solution isn’t entirely solved yet though, and still requires manual interaction, manual monitoring, and careful attention to your CGM output when making lifestyle choices.

Similarly, Garmin watches have medium cybiosis as they are safe, easily accessible, inexpensive, and comfortable. They add value to the user through feedback and monitoring, but not as much as life-saving Pacemakers. As AI analysis improves, hopefully, the analytics available in wearables will improve so that we can keep the incredible advantages above while adding more value to the user’s daily life.

Low Cybiosis

Although it has amazing applications and is an incredibly powerful tool, MRI is a low cybiosis technology. It is complicated, expensive, not readily available, requires experts to conduct a recording, and is not comfortable for users. Patients often have to go out of their way to undergo an MRIs, wait for appointments, and rely on experts for analysis. Although MRIs can significantly improve patient outcomes, the technology is poorly integrated into users' lives. I hope that MRIs can maintain their useful applications and impressive data quality, while improving to a more usable and scalable form where this technology is more accessible.

The Importance of Cybiosis

Just as the term "viscosity" allows chemists to efficiently discuss the flow characteristics of liquids, "cybiosis" provides a succinct way to discuss the integration of technology in our lives. This term encapsulates the multifaceted considerations of HMIs—from usability and cost to impact and accessibility—into a single, comprehensive descriptor.

We need an adjective that can clearly identify relationships between humans and technology, defining their interactions.

Cybiosis aims to bring clarity to discussions around HMIs, and centre the conversations on the user.

What do you think about the concept of cybiosis? Are there any other factors I am leaving out which should be considered?

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My name is Abby Holland. I am a Product Owner at IDUN Technologies, a consumer neurotech company building EEG-augmented headphones. I have been building in the space since 2018, and have a background in BioMechanical Engineering and Neurological Disorders. Follow me on Twitter @holland_neuro for realtime commentary on new neurotech developments.

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