Science fiction has always been a gold mine for the hopes and dreams of geeks everywherein fact, people might still think about the whole meme of Its the 21st century, wheres my flying cars? One of the aspects of data technology is that it helps us become more than human, in fact, every device that we carry with us or keep in our homes networks us with a vast store of information and knowledge moreso than any other before, every smartphone, tablet, PC, laptop, is an extension of humanity as with any tool.

The video series being teased on YouTube right now, H+ (two irritatingly short but narrative packed episodes are available right now) provides an insight into futurist ideas of how transhumanism and augmented reality might pan out.

However, with any toolespecially communicationstheres a danger with mass adoption and dependence and there lies an expectation and a fear that science fiction writers often tap into to write visceral narratives about how technology designed to benefit humanity can go horribly wrong.

Augmented reality or cyborg-augmented people?

This question comes up in a lot of science fiction media and some of the best examples are from the Deus Ex series, especially profound in the most recent Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The technology almost exists today to produce bionic limbs and interfaces that permit people to have superhuman strengthbut certainly not mobility, were not there yetand the question becomes: when we do produce that technology will people amputate limbs in order to articulate themselves with a cyborg appendage?

The same question is being filled with H+ with a computer mechanism that can be implanted directly into the brain to provide high fidelity augmented reality and a direct connection to the Internet of their day. In the first episode we see people talking about the bioethics of the chip and the horror elements creeping in with the flickering static of the television broadcasts and people arguing over mass adoption.

This foreshadows the premise of the H+ dystopia story in that the new technology can be hacked.

In Deus Ex: Human Revolution the same sort of problem occurs, a dependence rises around the cyborg technology and theres also the effect that it can be assaulted, hacked, and people using it driven insane. After all, if we directly wed ourselves with machines we can find ourselves with inseparable hardware. In Neal Stephensons Snow Crash theres a short snippet about a fellow who had one of his bionic eyes hacked by an advertiser and who now suffers stupid ads scrolling in his augmented reality at the bottom of his vision.

These fears are reflected in modern day with people who have reprogrammable pacemakers (using RFID or wireless) where exploits are found in the authentication mechanics enabling a malicious hacker or even a virus to screw with their heart rhythms. While its extremely useful to allow the pace maker to be accessible without having to cut through a persons skin, its still arguable that some things shouldnt be networkable.

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H+ Teaser Video: The H is for Post-Apocalyptic Transhumanism