French forecasting company L’Atelier analyzed the possibilities of modern technologies and their likely development trajectory, as well as the context in which they could exist in 2030
The authors divided the ten-year forecast into five sub-themes. Trends publishes one of them.
Human improvement
Throughout history, people have constantly developed technologies that would make their lives easier and help overcome physiological limitations. And recent advances in biotechnology, chemistry, physics, bioinformatics, medicine, and computer science are helping us create a new generation of devices that improve human performance. Machines become truly intuitive and natural extensions of thoughts, feelings and movements.
Imagine a neural interface that picks up neural signals in the body to control devices outside the body. Or a wearable device that, instead of reading data from the brain, “writes” directly into it, suggesting options for using neuromodulation to improve chronic conditions.
Such technologies significantly expand existing capabilities, creating new sensory, physical, mental and emotional abilities – from augmentation to brain-machine interfaces.
Drivers and trends
The practice of augmentation with the help of biological materials and prostheses is already underway. Cosmetic surgery and smart wearables have become normal in society. The expansion of connected devices and the development of synthetic biology are the next steps in expanding human capabilities.
The interaction of everything in the world is becoming ever closer: people, devices, infrastructure will be increasingly intertwined through the loT network architecture, as well as through 5G and 6G networks.
Over the next decade, more sophisticated technologies will begin to improve human performance. Audio implants will improve hearing or translate speech into different languages. The olfactory implants will use a mild electrical stimulus to heighten the experience of smells or warn of dangers such as gas leaks, smoke or fire. Non-invasive wearable devices will communicate directly with our brains and cells.
Implantable brain-machine interfaces could allow people to instantly interact with devices. For example, neuroprosthetics could allow a person to move a prosthetic arm with the same ease as a biological limb.
Special chips can change the amount and nature of the information stored in our brain. And the digitization of memory, the recording and preservation of every moment of a person’s life, can make fundamental changes in how we perceive reality and our own identity.
Some technologies can help to avoid aging and possibly even death.
Challenges and Opportunities
Implants can significantly expand the understanding of how the human body functions and behaves, as well as teach how to manage these processes. This will enable the creation of customized products and services, from insurance and financial advice, treatments to advertisements. Technologies such as emotion-control implants could allow people to choose which emotions they want or don’t want to experience. New visual possibilities would also lead to new forms of interaction.
However, all these developments and processes will lead to the massive collection, processing, exchange and analysis of information, which will raise the issue of data management and ownership to a new level. New social constructions may even emerge and existing social inequalities may worsen.
Future prospects
The next decade is likely to see an accelerated turn towards digitalization by the natural and life sciences, driven in large part by attempts to increase human potential, especially in a rapidly changing environment.
As costs decrease, the range of applications of new human-enhancing technologies will expand. As technology develops, it will also become less invasive. The next decade will see the first signs of an era of transhumanism, as the number of those wishing to change their physiology and life will only increase.
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