A recent article in Slate provides a non-technical update on some recent advances in
human enhancement technology. It
mentions ‘nootropics’, drugs like modafinil that were originally developed for treatment
of CNS disease but are now widely used by healthy individuals to boost mental
function. It also mentions some of the amazing brain hardware technologies that
have allowed people with spinal cord injuries to control robotic devices with
their thoughts.
Unfortunately, like most articles on this
subject, it stresses the ‘wow’ factor of individual new technologies without
seeing how these technologies are linked to the overall thrust of human enhancement
research. It also fails to address the enormous
societal impact that would result from widespread use of enhancement technologies.
This is an area that this blog will be focusing
on over the next few months. We will try to engage with the issue of how this
emerging suite of technologies will impact not only individuals, but the economy
and the overall organization of society.
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