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Michael Chorost          

Human/Machine Integration Expert, Author of "Rebuilt", PEN/USA Award Winner

Michael Chorost is a leading expert on human/machine integration. In 2001, he went completely deaf and had a computer implanted in his head to let him hear again. This transformative experience not only restored his hearing but also provided the foundation for his book, "Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human." The book details how mastering his cochlear implant enabled him to reach his full creative potential. "Rebuilt" was critically acclaimed and received the PEN/USA Book Award for Creative Nonfiction in 2006.

Chorost holds a PhD with a diverse background that includes computer programming, Renaissance literature, and cultural theory. He studied at Brown University and has not limited himself to one academic field, viewing programming, science, writing, and art as interconnected creative human endeavors. This perspective is also evident in his subsequent work, "World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humans and Machines," where he explores the potential for human-computer integration to enhance community and creativity. Chorost has contributed to numerous prestigious publications, including Wired, The Washington Post, and Technology Review, and penned the screenplay for "The 22nd Century," a TV special on brain implants that aired on PBS in January 2007.

Chorost has an extensive record of media appearances, including features in The New York Times and interviews on NPR programs like "Weekend Edition." He serves in advisory roles for neuroscience research at Northwestern and Brown universities. His speaking credentials include over 80 talks at venues such as Google, MIT, and Stanford, and appearances on television programs like BBC Breakfast TV and C-SPAN’s BookTV. With over 15 years of teaching experience at institutions like Duke and the University of Texas-Austin, Chorost is known for his engaging, thoughtful, and wryly humorous speaking style. His ability to interact effectively with audiences is enhanced by his cochlear implants, which allow him to handle live questions with ease.

Speech Topics

New Bodies, New Lives

Medical technology is creating radically new opportunities for people to rebuild their bodies and their lives. Cochlear implants like Dr. Chorost's are enabling totally deaf people to hear again, opening up the possibility of new relationships and new careers. Nascent technologies like retinal implants, smart prosthetics, and brain stimulators are enabling many people to see, walk, and communicate in new ways.

Rarely, however, do the recipients simply go back to having the same lives they had before. The process of reworking one's body can be spiritual in its intensity, leading the users to question old assumptions and habits – and to change them. Dr. Chorost talks about the cutting edge in new technologies of the body and how they evoke the human traits of resiliency, flexibility, and courage. With creative use of audio and video, he gives audiences a sense of what he himself hears, giving a glimpse of what the transformative process feels like from within.

Transformation: When The Only Way Out Is Through

When Dr. Chorost lost his hearing in one day, his body became a foreign country. All of the rules abruptly changed. As he rebuilt his life, he learned how to embrace new tools to make new rules, and better ones. That let him achieve things he had never even known were possible.

In today's economic times, the rules are abruptly changing for everyone. Making plans these days feels like building a house during a hurricane. Dr. Chorost speaks about critical strategies such as technology innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, smart risk-taking, honesty with oneself and others, and making creative use of the unexpected. He brings to bear his Ph.D. in educational technology, his burgeoning career writing about the smartest scientists and engineers in the world, and his own experience in having rebuilt his life not just once but several times.

News

Michael Chorost to Speak Sept. 9
As a pre-cursor to this year’s Nobel Conference (“The Brain and Being Human”), conference organizers and the Neuroscience Program at Gustavus have invited technology theorist Michael Chorost to speak at the College on Friday, Sept. 9...

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