In this week's issue of the magazine, I write a story about the growing philosophical and political debate about the wisdom of human enhancement: If and when technology allows, should we use some combination of genetic engineering, nanotechnology, neuropharmacology, and advanced computer science to make ourselves radically stronger, smarter, and longer-lived—even if the result is so different that a better term for our species would be "posthuman" rather than human? All this week, Next News will be devoted to the topic of human enhancement.
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Currently, having a 200-year lifespan or an intelligence quotient double that of Marilyn Vos Savant might seem pretty far out. But some enhancement advocates are even more creative. Right now, over at a website associated with the World Transhumanist Association, a community of people is eager to get bioengineered bodies as soon as possible. Here's the running list—half tongue-in-cheek—of some of the possible body modifications. Among them:
• Diamondoid teeth with self-cleaning capabilities
• Automatically changing hair color
• An improved "aerobic oxygenation" system for the lungs
• The ability to upload your mind into a computer
• Ultrareceptive, self-cleaning ears
For more wild ideas, check out the website of transhumanist artist Natasha Vita-More. It features her vision for a prototype of the engineered body of the future. Among the fun features of this thought experiment:
• Solar-protected skin with "tone-texture changeability"
• A "fiberoptic communications" spine
• A brain enhanced by a "nanotech data-storage memory" system
Scoff if you will at all this, but it wasn't so long ago that the idea of using laser beams to create better than 20-20 vision seemed pretty fantastic, as well. It's now possible, of course, to achieve 20-15 eyesight via laser surgery. Recall that in the 1982 film Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, for instance, it's revealed that nobody wears glasses in the future because of a certain drug, one that Captain Kirk happens to be allergic to. What's not possible in a fictional 23rd century is already possible in the actual 21st century. Who knows what other wonders are on their way?
