Human augmentation and the age of the transhuman

Abstract

Human augmentation is discussed in this chapter in three axes: the technological means, the ability being augmented, and the social systems that will be affected. The technological augmentations considered range from exocortical information and communication systems, to pharmaceuticals, tissue and genetic engineering, and prosthetic limbs and organs, to eventually nanomedical robotics, brain–computer interfaces and cognitive prostheses. These technologies are mapped onto the capabilities which we are in the process of enabling and augmenting, which include extending longevity and physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities, and enabling control over emotions, moral behavior, and spiritual experience. The impacts of biohybridicity via augmentation on the family, education, economy, politics, and religion are considered individually, but their aggregate effects will be non-linear and drive complex adaptations in the living machine that is our co-evolved techno-social civilization.