Technological advances of the future could take us beyond current human capacity
THERE’S a chance we’ll have to flee a dying Earth to seek refuge on Mars, where we’ll be so busy trying to work out how to grow potatoes that we’ll stop worrying about our wrinkles or dodgy knees.
THERE’S a chance we’ll have to flee a dying Earth to seek refuge on Mars, where we’ll be so busy trying to work out how to grow potatoes that we’ll stop worrying about our wrinkles or dodgy knees.
But researchers are assuming that the human race will keep spending money to improve their lot. And while some of the developments might sound like science fiction, many of them are already reality and coming to a shop near you.
There are pills to make you smarter, improve your memory, and keep you going on less sleep. Bionic limbs and replacement organs. And there’s more to come – physicist Stephen Hawking (in work published after his death) says genetic engineering will create a new race of superhumans.
Genes can already be edited using a technique called CRISPR for medical reasons. But the options are potentially only limited by medical ethics. We could breed humans who are not just disease free, but taller, faster, smarter.
Physicist Stephen Hawking says it could be a “new species”.“I am sure that during this century, people will discover how to modify both intelligence and instincts such as aggression,” he wrote.
“Laws will probably be passed against genetic engineering with humans. But some people won’t be able to resist the temptation to improve human characteristics, such as memory, resistance to disease and length of life.”
At the Invictus Games in Sydney, athletes have been showcasing prosthetics enhanced by microprocessors. That technology could outstrip human capabilities. There are “i-limbs” such as a bionic hand, where each finger has its own motor and can work through an app. Scientists have created functioning prototypes of organs – lungs, or a spleen.
We’ll get upgrades if we want, or could ultimately even regenerate like Dr Who.
There are powered exoskeletons in development so people can be stronger and can go all day without getting tired. There are already people working on cyborg tech that can let you see behind you, or detect earth tremors, or we might be able to put human brains into robot bodies. And there is speculation that one day we’ll have “nanobots” swarming in our blood to keep us healthy.
The lasers of the future will eradicate wrinkles and blemishes. New evidence suggests that infusions of young blood could reverse ageing.
Australian scientists are about to start human trials of nicotinamide mononucleotide, which has reversed ageing in mice. There are already drugs to make you smarter, improve your memory, let you sleep less. They’re called nootropics or “smart drugs”.
They include racetams, a range of drugs which are mild cognitive enhancers, thought to reduce anxiety and increase creativity. Modafinil has been shown to help people stay awake and alert with less sleep; some people use ADHD drugs for the same thing.
Silicon Valley is leading the way — overworked entrepreneurs are forking out for customised concoctions, hoping they’ll come up with the next big thing. But all of this work improving the human condition is expensive.
As Hawking warned, “unimproved humans” will be left behind. They “won’t be able to compete”.
“Presumably they will die out, or become unimportant. Instead, there will be a race of self-designing beings who are improving at an ever-increasing rate.” So most of humanity could well be left worrying about wrinkles and dodgy knees, and grateful for the odd potato.
Rise of the superhumans
I-LIMBS: Such as a bionic hand where each finger has its own motor and can work through an app.
SYMBIONIC LEGS: Work with microprocessors in the knee.
EXOSKELETON: Scientists are working on a powered exoskeleton so people can be stronger and go all day without getting tired.
BLOOD: New evidence suggests that infusions of young blood could reverse ageing.
NANOBOTS: Could swim in our blood to keep us healthy.
CYBORG TECHNOLOGY: Can let you see behind you, or detect earth tremors,
DRUGS: Drugs to make you smarter, improve your memory, let you sleep less. They’re called nootropics or “smart drugs”.
DNA: Physicist Stephen Hawking says the future will see a new race of superhumans when the rich can edit their DNA.