Neil Harbisson

Neil Harbisson, a top innovation keynote speaker and artist, has made significant strides in the realm of cybernetics by having an antenna surgically implanted into his skull, making him the first person in the world to be officially recognized as a cyborg by a government. Born with the inability to see color, this antenna allows Harbisson to hear the spectrum, including colors beyond the range of human sight such as infrareds and ultraviolets.

Besides his personal transformation, Harbisson co-founded the Cyborg Foundation with Moon Ribas. This organization advocates for the use of cybernetics as body parts to extend human senses and perceptions, supports human rights for cyborgs, and promotes cyborgism as a social and artistic movement. His work extends into "colour concerts," where he uses his antenna to create music from the colors of various objects or features of people, and he delivers motivational talks focusing on technology, the future of our species, and the integration of technology with human biology.

In his artistic endeavors, Harbisson continues to explore the relationship between color and sound, which deeply informs his artwork. His "Sound Portraits" series, where he translates the colors of faces into a microtonal chord, and the "City Colours" project, depicting the capital cities of Europe through two distinctive colors, are notable examples. Moreover, his antenna also equips him to receive colors from space, as well as images, videos, music, or phone calls directly into his head via external devices such as mobile phones or satellites, further blurring the lines between human perception and technology.