Spoilered relevant bit of article:
I've been interested in grafts and rewiring since
this, and cyborgs came into focus for me when I saw how simply (not easily) they could be made.
Yes, computers are becoming, in one sense, more than tools as our brains adapt to them. Case in point: After spending a year playing Diablo 2 with the minimap on, I felt partially "blinded" when I turned it off. My brain was used to that source of input and was surprised when associated game pathways were triggered and no input was received on that channel.
"Full" cyborgs would have to be grown like test tube babies in an artificial womb, with constant additional of machine grafts. But technically anyone with an implant is a cyborg. Between these extremes, you can give someone a mechanical eye without having to do much adjustment: Put camera in eye socket, connect I/O port to optic nerve, send signals, the brain will eventually sort them out and grow a new cortex region (or adapt an unused one) to deal with the input. The brain will do a lot of calibrating that way if you give it a few months. You could potentially add lots of stuff this way, for example a memory chip.
I'm a bit doubtful of Andy Clark's use of "already", since we're not continually hooked up to our computers. Professional birdwatchers use binoculars several hours a day; that's an information filter; I wouldn't say that those lenses make us cyborgs.
And a warning to those who want to save themselves effort by installing calculators to avoid arithemetic: It won't work. You'll have to
practise a lot in order to get the interface working. I practise a lot of mathematics, and I can multiply any pair of numbers <20 in my head in three seconds flat. I can multiply three-digit numbers in my head given some time. Your brain is as good as a computer at arithmetic; you just aren't associating quickly.
I started exercising my mobile's voicemail a lot more a few years back.
