augmented humanity
TRANSCRIPT
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NEURAL LACESci-fi notion of electronic netting
that grows into the brain, integrating with its functions.
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MESH ELECTRONICS
“Plugging your computer into your brain becomes a lot more palatable if all you need to do
is inject something.” – Jacob Robinson, Neuro-Nanotechnologist,
Rice University
“[In the future] the net may be studded with feedback devices
that deliver electrical stimulation or release packets of drugs for
medical treatment…” – Smithsonian Magazine
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Developed through DARPA’s Re-Net, the Stentrode is inserted
into the brain through a blood vessel in the neck, a low- risk
procedure
MESH ELECTRONICS
First Human Trials, Melbourne 2017
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QUANTIFYINGTHE MIND
The data that can be collected by these implants will lead to a new understanding of the mind & its
potential to integrate with technology
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“Through the combination of HI (human intelligence) & AI, we are at
the brink of intelligence enhancement, which could be the most consequential technological
development of our time & in history.” – Bryan Johnson,
CEO of Kernel, a brain-science company
QUANTIFYING THE MIND
“Such advancements could allow us to literally program our neural code,
transforming ourselves in ways that we can’t even imagine. We could literally program ourselves into the people that we want to be…” – Futurism.com
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JET SCALLOPSEven less invasive than a brain
injection, these jet-powered microbes could allow us to
manipulate the brain or body with no permanent hardware
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• Tech-extended cognition/intellect rebalances the playing field for those seeking work.
• Education as we know it ends. Social, emotional and healing skills – the Human Arts – rise when all other realms of learning can be programmed.
• Spirituality rises as we seek to understand what makes our Cyborg Selves human. Will Robots also get religion?
• Technology rises to satisfy and hack our human, sensory needs. WeVibe connected sex toys are just the beginning.
WHAT’S NEXT
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“FORTIS™ allows operators to use heavy tools as if they were weightless. An advanced ergonomic design moves naturally with the body and adapts to different body types and heights. …Our FORTIS exoskeleton is available starting at $23,320 per unit” – Lockheed Martin
HIGH POWER
“Lockheed Martin developed the Human Universal Load Carrier
(HULC) for the U.S. Army to explore the potential for
exoskeleton technology to alleviate strain and fatigue for soldiers who
carry heavy loads over long distances.” – Lockheed Martin
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POWER SUITSUNPLUGGED
SuitX can reduce the muscle force needed to complete a task by 60%. It is an unpowered exoskeleton composed of three modules that can be worn as needed the full body with all
three modules retails for $10,000.
In an effort to break the world record marathon time, Nike has released a
shoe it claims makes runners 4% faster. “It’s actually easier to run in the shoe than to stand around talking in it.
They’re like ski-boots that way.” – Wired
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Inspired by SRI work performed for DARPA’s Warrior Web Program,
This material can prevent and reduce musculoskeletal injuries caused by dynamic events. Currently SRI is
focusing on using the technologies to assist individuals with
musculoskeletal diseases” – Superflex brochure
SUPER FLEX
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MEDICAL APPSThe Phoenix exoskeleton is the world's lightest
and most advanced exoskeleton designed to help people with mobility disorders to be upright and
mobile. Phoenix has enabled many individuals to stand up, walk about, & speak to peers eye-to-eye.
Touch Bionics has released climb quantum, which can
make use of 'chip grips,' which are little Bluetooth sensors you
can place on parts of a home or office to automatically adjust the i-limb's grip - for example to better grip a faucet.” – Wearable
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KOREANFUTURE TECH
Future iterations of this robot suit could find its application in a lot of different areas, from construction and cargo loading to
rescue operations.
A modified version of that robotic vehicle is already in development and planned to operate in the Fukushima disaster area.
While some believe the project to be a hoax, the designer insists it is real and that
it seems fake only because it went viral well before its intended release.
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A series of biosensors detect moments of fear & awe, and send them to your friends. AudioTactile
fabric plays “hair-raising” frequencies to evoke the sensation of excitement.
SENSOREEAWELECTRIC
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FUTUREEXOSKELETON
“Future exoskeletons will be much better," says engineer and futurist Dr Ian Pearson, describing
a 'Spider-Man' suit a few mm thick that uses either electro-active polymers or folded
graphene capacitors to create electromagnetic muscles, enabling super-human strength. "It wouldn't look like metal armor, more like a
wetsuit – and it could be done in 10 years if you had the kind of development budget that a
spacesuit normally has…” – Wearable
• The new status symbols will be designer robotic components – branded titanium limbs, celebrity exoskeletons
• A new growth market: Training, medical care, and energy enhancement to help us adapt to (and keep up with) our new Cyborgian bodies
• Who will own the first chain of spas that cater to our new Machine bodies?
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WHAT’S NEXT
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By injecting pig embryos with stem cells, researchers have created fetal
pigs that are .01% human.
The same technique has been used to grow rat organs in mice, and mouse organs in rats. Organ
transplants for all are within sight.
A NEW CHIMERIC ERA
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Hereditable Gene Editing is Cool NowThe National Academies of Sciences and
Engineering say “it should be okay” so long as it is done with proper multigenerational
oversight and follow-up for the sake of treating disease only. However, the line between treating diseases and creating
enhanced humans is blurry already.
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ANTI-CRISPRA new tool promises to give
scientists even greater control over genes, limiting the possibility
of unwanted gene-editing.
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Scientists have developed computers that can read and write information as DNA. The computers are made from the same chemicals as DNA and can
also interpret information stored in organisms.
DNA IS A COMPUTING
MEDIUM
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DNA IS $$$“…the FDA has allowed French
biotechnology company Cellectis to initiate United States clinical trials for a new cancer therapy. Unlike other CAR-T
therapies—which are custom products made by genetically engineering each
patient’s own cells—Cellectis manufactures CAR-T cells from healthy donors. …Over
the coming years, there will likely be millions of people treated with genetically engineered human cells. This is what the
first widespread use of human genetic engineering is going to look like.”
– PS MAG
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“Techno-humanism aims to amplify the power of humans, creating cyborgs and connecting humans to computers, but it still sees human interests and desires as the highest authority in the universe.
Dataism is a new ethical system that says, yes, humans were special and important because up until now they were the most sophisticated data processing system in the universe, but this is no longer the case. The tipping
point is when you have an external algorithm that understands you—your feelings, emotions, choices, desires—better than you understand them yourself. That’s the point when we switch from amplifying humans
to making them redundant.
….When you talk about God and religion, in the end it’s all a question of authority. What is the highest source of authority that you turn to when you have a problem in your life? A thousand years ago, you’d turn to the church. Today, we expect algorithms to provide us with the answer—who to date, where to live, how to deal
with an economic problem. So more and more authority is shifting to these corporations.”
--Yuval Harari on his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Technology Will Supersede Government, God & Humanity
• In the new era of Mosaic Identities –your edited DNA, someone else’s DNA, an animal organ, some hardware – how will brands address the proliferating MicroTribes of “people like me”? How can they understand and personalize their products and messaging?
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WHAT’S NEXT
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Hardwear
Bioware
Wetware
THE FUTURE of Augmented Humanity
Implants will lead us to an ever shifting tech-permeable body
Wearables and heavy power suits will give way to versatile lightweight skins
A marketplace for genetic commodities will transform life as it dehumanizes us all