Human Augmentation

[Daryn]

If you had the chance to Augment yourself in some way, would you? What would you want to improve? Would you take on some superhuman abilities or just make things a bit better for yourself?

Me, I'd definitely improve my eyesight. I've not known what perfect vision is like, so anything better than what I have now would be a big plus.

[Brome Teks]

Of course I would. I already do. I use glasses to augment my otherwise near-sighted eyes. I wear clothes to protect my weak skin from sun and damage. I wear shoes to help my feet remain comfortable. I use a cell phone to make up for the fact that I can't yell around the entire planet. Whether or not it's implanted into us or not makes no real difference. We use technology to improve ourselves, and have since antiquity. It's perfectly normal for us, as someone once put "To be human is to be more than human."

Using no form of augmentation to improve our weaknesses means literally surviving in the wilderness naked with no tools or weapons.

EDIT: Oh, and totally don't forget about things like hip replacements and implantable hearts!

[Daryn]

I guess the question I'm trying to ask is whether or not you'd sign up to have a chip put in your head. I understand that we all use technology in ways, but it's usually out of medical necessity. Would it be different if the implants were by choice?

[SliceOfDog]

For me it would depend on various factors, mostly things like "how safe is it?". As it stands, for example, I wouldn't want to risk laser eye surgery, because although it's incredible as it is, there is still that risk of something going wrong, and the recovery process is so arduous. If there were some eye implant that gave perfect vision and it was successful 99.9% of the time with a recovery time of a few hours, I'd go for it.
I don't think I'd want any brain implants though. Just because... well... I don't believe in a soul or anything, so for me what goes on in my head is what makes me 'me'.

[Brome Teks]

Like Slice, if it was safe, there are a lot of things I would go for. As for brain implants, I think I would hold off. I'll be perfectly honest, If I could browse TV Tropes in my brain, I would never, ever get anything done again.

[Daryn]

I hope one day we reach the point where we've got computers in our head, memory crystals backing up our every experience, and storing it. When we get old, well, no problem we just spend a couple months in a Rejuv tank and come out 30 years younger.

[Terrapun]

I'm on the fence on that one. I would fully approve of human augmentation, after all it's not my business what others do with their bodies. But I don't think I would willingly put a foreign body in my well uh... body. It's something in my psyche I think, I would be very uneasy knowing there is something like that in me. On the other hand I have no such feelings toward biological implants (vat grown organ replacements or possibly augmentations and DNA modifications, you know the usual transhuman stuff) or nano-machines for that matter (I have a rich internal life as it is, so a few billions of newcomers wouldn’t rally mater, now would it?).

I hate the concept of having to die someday (pretty terrified of it actually), especially if the universe is such an interesting place. I don't think there is something “beyond”, and this short time we have is all we've got. So if someone would give me a chance to prolong my existence I would gladly take it (provided the procedure is safe).

Oh! I almost forgot about it and it's kinda important to me. Individuality, self-consciousness, the sense of being “me” (I know it's rather selfish). I definitely wouldn’t want to lose that in some hive mind or something similar. And some augmentation proponents seem to think that global connectivity and some sort of “planet mind” is a way to go. I always held individuality in very high regard, I can imagine the benefits of some godlike cloud computing entity but I don't think that such a being would actually be all that perfect or intelligent. Faster? More efficient? Probably. But I believe that any knowledge we posses comes from interactions of individuals with varying interests, opinions (often very different opinions) and different ways of looking at the world around them. Losing all that for the sake of better computing speed or bigger storage space would be plain stupidity. (Yes, even when taking into account that a single being would have greater trouble waging wars against itself. But it's humans we are talking about, I am fairly confident that “Human” would find a way, eventually.) Hope this makes some sense, I tend to blur the picture when I try to explain something, that’s my little racial perk.

[Slate]

Being able to perceive the ultraviolet spectrum of light. 'Nuff said C:

[Arratra]

I'm on the fence myself, but mainly due to safety concerns. My personal favourite augmentation would be a neural lace so that I could control a powered suit or something similar as if it were actually part of my body.

[Tha_Pig]

It all depends on what kind of enhancements are available. Technically we can say a pirate with a peg leg was "augmented" according with the technology of the times.

I had eye surgery more than 20 years ago (before laser, when it as done with a razor blade) because my eyesight was very bad from birth. That could be considered an augmentation, and a very useful one because it improved the quality of my life like 300%.

But going into the science fiction field, I would love to have modifications that give me special abilities. Night vision would be nice! The possibility of record what I see and hear and save it as a video file would be great.

And if I could really ad something way beyond human capacity, I would love something that allows me to breath underwater. I would be rich in a week!

[Rick Canaan]

If such were possible, I would have something implanted that would allow me to eat anything I wanted without gaining weight!

I love to eat, and especially love to eat really good cuisine. If I could eat all of that that I wanted without worry for gaining a pound, getting heart problems, or (god forbid) gout () from it, I would be as happy as a person could ever hope to be!

Of course, super strength would go over pretty well, too. But if given the choice between that and the ability to eat anything and as much of anything that I wanted, I would choose that ability and be as weak as a church mouse, happily!



Nice thread, Daryn!

[Daryn]

Somehow that doesn't surprise me much Rick. I know you like to eat, and cook as well. Being able to do that and get every bit of nutrition out of it without wasting any in unused fat, that would be quite good indeed.

[macrorufus]

I'm with Rick there, on the eating without worry ^_^

.... although my brain screams that augmentation will end up as those things you delete in spam boxes...

Guaranteed Einstein IQ! GET ONE NOW. =P

Edit: Augmentation sounds expensive.

[BIos_Reaper]

Personally I'm in favor of human augmentation, especially since evolution isn't capable of adapting a species to "civilized life" or rather, wasn't ever intended to. The way I see it, evolution selects the best applicant for civilization, then hands over the reins to that species to continue improoving itself. My friend Unnar unfortunetly is a little... I ought to say thick headed on the matter since he seems to think augmentation speaks purely for things we implant in ourselves, that is the furthest from the truth I've heard any statement being.

Personally, intelligence boosting would be my choice, that and our lovely stallions idea is just rich! Especially given how we don't need any of the fat the body excessively hoards... we've got clothes, hopefully thermal underlayered clothing in the future for that. As for eyes, my eyesight is perfect, if I lost my eyes I'd get them replaced, having cybernetic optics would be just plain neat...

Also I had the idea of placing nanotechnology manufactured sensors at the tips of your nerves, so you could enhance your ability to tell things, smell things, hehe... yes that includes pleasure as well. Protected immune systems would be nice as well, stronger heart too. Also... a way to prevent loss of hair! I hate getting bald from poor father-wise inherited genetics... I'd also most definately get neurological implants, surfing the web without needing a laptop would be so nice! And typing just by thinking! Imagine the speed increase for writers!

Also for interesting sake, a CASIE aug like the one from Human Revolution to increase my success at convincing or calming people down. That would be nice though I suspect an empathy aug to become available at some point. Being able to understand one another more deeply is something I'd like to see, very much so. Well that's my tidbit! Have at it!

[Nelle Kozera]

I’m a fan of the idea of Human augmentation to, though I do like the idea of Bio augs more than inorganic augments, but at the same time Bio augs would be more difficult do to the chance of rejection but that true for inorganic augs as well if they are not properly bioproofed. I think we really need a mix of both. For augmenting the systems of our own body, it would better if we bio method because we would added to whats already there and if done right can be less invasive.

Personally, I want a LOT of augments. Hearing, eyesight, muscle, etc etc.

[Tha_Pig]

By the way, I would like human augmentation if it was a exclusive thing. Like they take you to a secret lab and give you adamantium claws.

Because the fun part of the augmentation is being unique. If everyone has it, then I rather being the only non-augmented human just to go against the herd.

As the guy in the Incredibles said "Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super... no one will be."

[Nelle Kozera]

By the way, I would like human augmentation if it was a exclusive thing. Like they take you to a secret lab and give you adamantium claws.

Because the fun part of the augmentation is being unique. If everyone has it, then I rather being the only non-augmented human just to go against the herd.

As the guy in the Incredibles said "Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super... no one will be."

I can understand what your saying, and makes sense, i can see some people doing it just for that. But for me at least i would want everyone to have access to them. If they are meant to improve the lives of people everyone, or at least most should have access to it.

[themnax]

it would be nice to have the strength to weight ratio of a cat, without getting any more frequent and regular exercise then they seem to. the more brainpower the better too. that's what i'd want more then anything, as i'm no where near as smart as many of the kinds of things i like and would like to be able to do. within the realm of the physical, besides looking cosmetically less 'human', i'd like the psionic linkage, to be able to up and download three and four dimensional visualization. to capture and save the visuals of my highly visually oriented dreams to external storage.

the problem with any of that of course, is who or what, could ever be trusted to install what i want, and only what i want.

[Daryn]

Well, like any of these things, you have to trust in the professionals. You trust your doctor, right? So this is something very similar.

That said, in changing your appearance, would you consider making yourself look more animal like? I know I probably would.

[SliceOfDog]

Ooh, that's an interesting and somewhat different debate; would people support purely cosmetic augmentations. Even if you wouldn't have one yourself, would you be happy for other people to have them (assuming that people could change their appearance in any way as long as they remained roughly 4 - 7ft and humanoid)? If yes, would you want any restrictions on who could have them, like age restrictions and so on.

[Brome Teks]

I'd probably get some cosmetic changes myself. As for an age limit, I'd say 18 or 21, younger only with parental consent. We don't need high schoolers making themselves into huge-breasted bunny girls and regretting it the rest of their lives with the consequent back problems.

[themnax]

Well, like any of these things, you have to trust in the professionals. You trust your doctor, right? So this is something very similar.

That said, in changing your appearance, would you consider making yourself look more animal like? I know I probably would.

well "more animal like" is what i had in mind, yes. as for trusting my doctor, well i have to up to a point, but there have been well documented instances of patients at community clinics and medical centers like the v.a. having had new drugs tested on them without their knowledge or consent. this is why i haven't taken the free flu and tetnis shots she keeps trying to talk me into.