Will we all become cyborgs?

We often speak of the body as a superbly crafted machine. This is not untrue when observed as a whole. However, it seems that this machine often malfunctions and wears out "fast". Every year of life takes its toll on the body. Not to mention the fact that some people are even born with defective parts. For transhumanists, the human of the future will have no choice but to use intracorporeal technologies.

Technology giants, among others, are already hard at work to enable humanity to bypass these dysfunctions. Scientists are working on organs reproduced, in whole or in part, by 3D printing, to replace those with problems.

For the moment, the problem is to create the link between biological cells and this artificial fabrication, but many are working on it. The same applies to intelligent prostheses, which could not only replace missing limbs but also add thumbs, arms and so on to enhance our daily actions. The idea is also to use technologies capable of operating by brain impulses - thought - to make them move. While some experiments have enabled paraplegics to use computers or even play video games, each ended when electrodes detached from the brain and the chip could no longer send its information.

This just goes to show that, while the future of humanity potentially involves more body technology, it won't be easy. Transhumanists who dream, for example, of immortality by downloading their consciousness onto a server and transplanting it into a young body have no idea how to do it yet. How much space would it take up on hard disks? Not to mention the fact that hard disks can get damaged. While we're still a long way from a population of cyborgs, it nevertheless seems that the future of humanity, for some, lies in human beings increasingly transformed by technology.

Running time: 30 minutes

Image: Leo from Pixabay