Disruptive Technologies in human augmentation impacting beyond 2040 VI

Transhuman technologies II

  • embellishing
    Electronic tattoo, can display patterns and be used as control device, like a touchpad. Credit: MIT and Microsoft

    Cosmetics seem to go as far back in time as we can tell. Some peoples traditionally modify their bodies, sometimes embedding natural objects (like shells in African tribal piercing) or artefacts (like jewels). Cosmetics have become quite sophisticated, leveraging on advanced technologies like carbon nanotubes and contact lenses (to alter the iris colour).
    More recently the availability of flexible electronics and graphene has led researchers to experiment various forms of electronic tattoos to provide new forms of embellishment.
    Plastic surgery is now able to modify many “physical” aspects of our body, enlarging, reducing, modifying the colour … We even have Apps that allows you to virtually experiment plastic surgery!
    By 2040 one can expect technology to provide a variety of ways to “change” the human body to satisfy the fancy of advanced cosmetics. Would you like longer, thinner fingers? What about a luminous fluorescent cheek? By tweaking genes we might be able to define several aspects of our child body and with genome modification using viral carriers we can even modify our current genome. I am not, personally, looking forward to this. At the same time I know that if something can be done, someone will do it….

  • replacing
    Work in ongoing to “manufacture” organs suitable for transplant. The most interesting approach being pursued uses the patient’s cells that are duplicated and then printed to form the organ using a 3D printer. In the photo the process of creating liver substructures. Credit: Organovo

    Our body is a system of sub-systems. Sometimes a sub-system fails resulting in a disability (losing a limb) or death (heart failure). Over the past fifty years scientists have managed to replace some organs, using transplant and prosthetics. Technological progress will increase our capabilities of replacing body parts. Researchears are progressing in growing organs: 3D printers using person’s cells are already printing skin, bones and windpipe (trachea) and in the labs bladder, liver and muscle are experimented. A growing understanding of the genes and their regulators will open the way to self re-generation. At the same time artificial organs are being studied. In a few decades we can expect organ replacement to become as common as today is the replacement of the eye lens or teeth.
    Since failing organs represent a significant cause of death we might expect an increase in the average life time once organ transplant becomes routine.
    Notice that replacement in the future may also lead to an increase in performance of the replaced organ.

  • adding
    Implanting a chip on the brain can help today fighting some disabilities like epilepsy. In the future more advanced technology can increase the capability of our brain. That will take us onto an unexplored path, raising more questions that we can answer. Image credit: Daily Express

    We are already adding capabilities to our body when using some sort of prosthetics like the special glasses used by surgeons (and dentists) to get a better view of the operating field. In the future there will be more and more opportunities to use technology in a seamless way to augment our body capabilities, for sure in the area of increasing our senses, like seeing in the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum, hearing beyond the range of normally perceived frequencies…
    We can also expect, according the the Imperial College Foresight study the advent of embedded chip that will expand our capabilities. Brain Computer Interfaces are already being studied with the aim of becoming seamless. Brain chip implants is already reality to control epileptic crises. DARPA has launched a project in 2017 to create a chip that can be implanted in the human brain to help curing some forms of mental disabilities. Whether this will become a reality or not is still an open question but questions on possible drawback are already being voiced.
    Take a look at the clip to see how venture capitals are funding new companies aiming at increasing our brain capabilities to create super-humans.

 

About Roberto Saracco

Roberto Saracco fell in love with technology and its implications long time ago. His background is in math and computer science. Until April 2017 he led the EIT Digital Italian Node and then was head of the Industrial Doctoral School of EIT Digital up to September 2018. Previously, up to December 2011 he was the Director of the Telecom Italia Future Centre in Venice, looking at the interplay of technology evolution, economics and society. At the turn of the century he led a World Bank-Infodev project to stimulate entrepreneurship in Latin America. He is a senior member of IEEE where he leads the New Initiative Committee and co-chairs the Digital Reality Initiative. He is a member of the IEEE in 2050 Ad Hoc Committee. He teaches a Master course on Technology Forecasting and Market impact at the University of Trento. He has published over 100 papers in journals and magazines and 14 books.