Medicine is progressing very quickly. Achievements in robotics, implantation and other auxiliary technologies do not cease to please us. Can we, people, eventually evolve into cyborgs? How will society change in this case? A cyborg is a person who has merged with machines, in some ways a hybrid. Once this formulation became a stamp of science fiction, but now it gets into reality as a medical tool. From implantation to robotics, we see the emergence of a wide variety of technologies that are designed to treat and alleviate pain, turning people, technically, into cyborgs.
It may seem excessive to use the term “cyborg” when discussing, for example, new versions of prostheses. But carbon fiber and titanium dentures are no longer surprising, and most artificial limbs are fully functional. Prosthesis is constantly progressing, engineers create even those with which one can control the power of thought – and feel the touch.
Artificial limbs such as the “blades” used by the Paralympians are so advanced that some wonder if they do not offer advantages over organic limbs. One Swedish company introduces chips to its employees so that they can open the door by a wave of a hand, not a key. Ilon Mask believes that his neural lace will make people smarter. Many are experimenting with the possibilities of merging mankind and machines.
Obviously, there is a need to discuss the future development of such technologies, because the speed of development of robotics and artificial intelligence is constantly growing. It seems obvious that future assistive technologies not only compensate for the missing qualities and abilities of people, but also bring them to a new physiological level. Changes will affect the social, political and economic spheres.
As soon as we officially cross this line, the technologies that we created to help people with complications and people with disabilities begin to take people’s abilities beyond the bounds of the biologically possible, and we will face moral and practical problems. Many believe that this will be “the next step in the evolution of mankind.” And if we ever get ready to colonize Mars and even the Solar system, this evolution may be necessary. Whatever the moral and ethical limitations, at some point we will have to become cyborgs.
Therefore, most likely, the day will come, and we will become one. Will cyborgs have the same rights and obey the same laws as ordinary biological citizens? Will cyborgs be vulnerable to hacking and manipulation? Will the war change forever with the possible introduction of military exoskeletons? This list can go on and on. And although we are still far from the universal distribution of exoskeletons, it’s time to start preparing for this day.