Brain and body enhancements promise bold future
June 09 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Other Year: General Rating: 9 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
Scientists predict that over the next three decades,
technologies will bring about enormous changes in our physical and
mental abilities. By as early as 2035, experts say, we could be
living in a powerful disease-free, youthful body with tiny nanobots
roaming throughout every cell maintaining optimum performance
levels for all our daily activities. 
Nano-enforced bones and polymer muscles will empower us with physical abilities almost beyond belief. We could outrun a horse, jump from the ground to a one-story roof, and focus our eyes to view microscopic creatures as small as dust mites. Cutting edge brain enhancements will provide even more super-abilities. We will control lights, security systems, and electronics with just our thoughts, and even perceive objects behind solid walls.
Intellectual property expert Fred Hapgood predicts that we will also enjoy “cell phone implants (which allow virtual telepathy) and memory backups (downloading memory to a computer disk) will also become available in this bold future”. Hapgood adds that it may be possible to upload and download entire minds in and out of bodies, achieving a sort of immortality.
Many of these abilities, experts say, are a long way off, but none are thought to be impossible. Most people embrace enhancements that would make them healthier, happier, and more able, but a few conservatives oppose this radical progress as not being “human.”
Ignoring this future though, may not be an option. If co-workers, friends, or competitors can search the Internet during conversations; remember exactly who said what, when and where; or control machines with just their thoughts, the only choice may be to join them or retire. The corporate world will definitely favor a neurotech-enhanced workforce in the future. (cont.)
Some enhancements will require upgrades as newer, faster; more efficient versions hit the market. This will be a pleasant activity as we search through all the possibilities to select an upgrade that provides the most benefits.
Our new intelligent brain of the future will process information wirelessly from a variety of sources. We will receive phone and video messages from family, friends, and business associates directly from their brain to ours.
Will this system be abused? A potential date might send a “virus” that turns on your pleasure center with the mere mention of their name; or more dangerous, a “worm” from a criminal could convince you to transfer funds to his bank account. But we could also “brainwash” these wrongdoers into becoming law-abiding citizens. On-line security experts at Secure Science Corporation believe the diversity of the human brain, combined with tomorrow’s quantum computing world, will make neuro-hacking extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Truly, intelligent regulations will be required as these bold human enhancement technologies become reality. In this future, each of us will enjoy more control over our lives. We will see unimaginable new cultural, social, and economic systems appear, and our lives will bear little resemblance to today’s crude 2008 existence.
Most experts believe – and this writer agrees – that our species will adapt comfortably to these changes as humans have always adapted to change in the past, and that things will be “business as usual” for those of us who can hardly wait to experience this bold “magical future”.
Comments welcome.
Comment Thread (9 Responses)
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“Which enhancement do you think you would enjoy the most?”
None, as none of us will be around to see it.
Posted by: adbatstone80 June 09, 2008
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the only impedement to such bold new visions of the future coming to fruition: would be our own stubourn resistance to change
Posted by: observer35 June 09, 2008
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Typical human stubbornness is not the only roadblock in the way of so-called “accelerating change”. There’s economics, international politics and technical issues. Nanotechnologists and Strong AI engineers are coming up against new hurdles almost every day in their pursuits. The more complex a technological field, the longer it takes to find major breakthroughs.
Posted by: adbatstone80 June 09, 2008
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I mean, why do some people (Futuretalk and Kurzweil especially) have to slap a specific date on when transhumanistic tech arrives? Saying that we certainly will be there by such-and-such is just asking for ridicule.
I remember a few years back when the Singularity meme was fresh, 2035 was the median, trendy year for it to occur. These days, with the advent of Peak Oil and nano/neuroscientists struggling with massive new-found complexity, that date seems to be getting pushed decades further into the future, by the month.
Posted by: adbatstone80 June 09, 2008
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Sorry, I do not share such a conservative view.
Life extension breakthroughs are happening almost on a daily basis. Each year, our bodies are becoming healthier and safer.
I realize that many people do not share my radical views of a “magical future” unfolding over the next few decades, but that does not mean it is impossible.
I will forever maintain faith in a positive, optimistic future – that is just who I am.
Posted by: futuretalk June 09, 2008
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I think it’s important for futurists to put dates on tech advances – even if they’re wild guesses – because it allows us to mentally/emotionally prepare for the event, regardless of its likelihood. If futuretalk played it safe and didn’t cite specific years, everyone would assume the “not in MY lifetime” position and less of the population would be motivated to discuss and critically examine the implications of such emerging technologies.
Posted by: mariposa June 09, 2008
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why do some people (Futuretalk and Kurzweil especially) have to slap a specific date on when transhumanistic tech arrives?
I agree with Marisa in that marketizing future occurrences (with specific dates) is important for the species, though I do think it’s just as important to take all of the predictions with a grain of salt, especially the more complex, distant and exponentially-related they are.
I suppose what’s maddening is the notion that an unhindered, run-away exponential future is drastically different than one in which growth is delayed for even a few years. We cannot discount the potential back-of-the-chessboard multiplier effects just as we cannot discount world-ending events and unforeseen natural caps to growth in various fields.
As change accelerates (who knows exactly how fast or for how long) the prediction variables increase and cause brain freezes like never before. It’s been shown that people get frustrated when presented with too many options because it then becomes difficult to actually make choices and live our lives, putting the analysis behind us. This is why I suspect it’ll take social media and markets to piece together the future; no one brain or even a think tank can get it even moderately right, IMO.
Personally, I can see many of the technologies referenced by Dick becoming reality in the near or mid-term. Exoskeltons will allow amazing agility – they are being worked on. Augmented reality paired with devices will allow for microscopic and and heat vision. People can already control computer mouses by thought alone. Brain-to-brain feeds seem plausible but could encounter serious compatibility barriers. All these possibilities/scenarios could be delayed by events and complexity or accelerated by concerted social efforts and crazy advances in hardware/software.
What’s interesting to me is the information supporting the various proposed timelines. If the date of the Big-S singularity shifts, that’s cool, it probably means we’re making slightly better educated guesses about the thing.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis June 09, 2008
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“everyone would assume the “not in MY lifetime” position”
But that’s what everyone SHOULD assume, as I certainly don’t see some super-technological revolution coming up on the horizon.
People view the speed of progress linearly because it IS almost linear. Two steps forward and one step back. Progress moves along more of a stairstep pattern than a smooth curve. The next few centuries will be no exception.
Posted by: adbatstone80 June 10, 2008
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People view the speed of progress linearly because it HAS BEEN (seemingly) linear. We all have generational biases that influence our ability to forecast and it’s easy to fall back on what we “know” from our experience. For example, if you brought back someone from the 1800s, he/she would be astonished at how fast technologies are emerging in comparison to their experience. The exponential rate of tech change has been increasing since the beginning of time – most people just don’t notice or don’t reflect from an evolutionary standpoint – which is hard, due to our still-too-short lifespans.
So basically, there’s much evidence to show that things will be different in the future and it takes getting waaay out of one’s generational perspective comfort zone to accept the possibility of these potential futures.
Posted by: Marisa Vitols June 10, 2008
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