Which version of human are you? – The Times of India Blog

Human Augmentation

Do Sci-Fi movies and Marvel characters with superhuman capabilities ever make you wonder if you too can someday become a superhuman? Well the time has come as technologies are fast invading our lives and will soon equip humans with such super powers.

Humans persistently struggle to push beyond their limits, improve their looks, health, quality of life, and performance. They always strive to modify their birth traits. For example, body tattooing, which is 12,000 years old, plastic surgery which dates back to 100 years, are increasingly being performed by humans on their bodies.

Human Augmentation is restoration and enhancement of physical and mental capability of a human by modifying the body using technologies such as genetic engineering, neurotechnology and nanomedicine. It will now be easier for aging people to live an active and fuller life. People who are physically and mentally challenged will now be able to lead normal lives. All this will be possible with the use of invasive and non invasive devices which will enhance the capabilities of humans.

Prosthetics, Augmented Reality glasses,hearing implants, limb devices, wearable devices like smart watches, RFID tags embedded in human bodies are common examples of Human Augmentation. Some real life technologies which replicate, supplement or exceed human capabilities are given below :

Neurological human enhancement offer improved performances in cognitive domains. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla has brought out Neuralink technology which will implant electrodes in the human brain converting them into computers. The day is not far when a human will be able to control their body parts with their minds.

Wearable biological frames or Exoskeletons are powered with electric motors which allow humans to achieve unimaginable physical feats. With the use of these exoskeletons it is possible for a human to run all day long without getting tired. They also provide extra strength to injured persons thereby enhancing their physical capabilities.

Modern day running shoes featuring carbon plates and springy soles now enable runners to run with 5 percent faster speed!

Cochlear implants help individuals who are hard of hearing to receive and process sound waves by sending them to a receiver embedded behind the ear which stimulates the auditory nerve and sends signals to the brain thus enabling them to hear.

Wearable devices fitted with visible and IR cameras enable visually impaired humans to display images near the eye.

Virtual Reality full body haptic suits are available these days which provide human-digital interface. The suit provides haptic feedback and can control the temperature of the human. It is used to improve the skills of humans.

Future healthcare will offer 3D Bio printing of organic tissues which will produce vital organs of the human body.

So with the advent of Artificial Intelligence technologies, neuro technologies and genetic engineering, humans will now have preferential eye colour, height, intelligence etc. They are on the path of becoming more capable in the future both physically and cognitively. Human Augmentation also called Human Version 2.0 is not far.

Be ready for a newer version of you!

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Which version of human are you? - The Times of India Blog