Will the human body become the next computer interface? If so, will it propel humanity forward as the next big evolutionary leap, or spell a recipe for Orwellian disaster? Will we be able to access cloud computing resources by thoughts from anywhere at any time, using chips embedded in our brain nodes and lobes that connect our thoughts via wireless technology to the cloud? What implications does this have for our organizations and institutions that we sometimes take for granted as “always have been and always will” be such as my country, religion, club, nation, district, political party and so on? In reality, every organization, line and boundary between an individual and the totality of humanity are merely convention. The lines are there because we believe they are there. Rules are there because we put them there. Norms are norms because we want them there. Connections to other human beings outside of biological relationships are based on choice. But maybe things are about to change.
To glimpse the future, we must look to the past and present. For thousands of years, human beings have formed, dissolved and reformed organizations, drawn lines and created boundaries for innumerable purposes. Walking hand in hand with this never ending organizational shaping, morphing and manipulation has been a uniquely human impulse – the ever growing application of technology which has created a global network of linkage institutions with respect to transportation, communication and information that transcends boundaries and borders. Humans have been using extra somatic tools with which we were not born to exert greater control over our environment. No other organism on earth does this. From the basket to the spear, the wheel, printing press, automobile, airplane, telephone, to the computer, PDA, wearable technology and now embedded computer devices, we seem to intrinsically crave this blending and extension of our biological or intra somatic traits by way of machine enhancement. We can transmit and receive information from half way around the world to people we’ve never met instantly, engage in debate, collaborate and execute financial transactions. We have become interlinked and are becoming more and more interdependent, and with this increasing interdependence, access and convenience comes risks and those risks include privacy and security.
So what are the hypothetical scenarios and alternate futures with respect to how all this will play out? Will it resemble Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984 or an evolutionary leap so bold as to redefine humanity in a way that allows us to pool our talents and resources for the good of all? If grid and cloud computing allow us to harness the computing and brain power from millions of client devices, dedicated servers and even other human beings from around the globe to find a cure for cancer, they also open us up to exploitation such as the recent exploits against Dropbox, Staples, Target and our government institutions.
Now, envision a future where technology is embedded in our minds and bodies. Converging technologies such as information transmission, nanotechnology, robotics and genetic engineering are such that humans are controlling and accelerating our own evolution. To some extent we are already there with pacemakers, hearing aids, implants and prosthetics. Even now, we have mapped out the human brain and nervous system so that we have pinpointed the nodes for sensory and motor functions. Those who could not see or hear before are now able to do so and that those who were paralyzed or using prosthetic limbs now have motor control where it was absent, simply by embedding chip sets and connecting them to the nervous system directly or using wireless technology. To understand the direction we are going we must review basic human anatomy and physiology.
The brain and nervous system are the decision and communications infrastructure of the human body. There are three major parts of our brains, the cerebrum associated with higher brain functions, cognitive abilities and reasoning, the cerebellum that controls coordination, balance etc., and the brain stem which connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic functions such as breathing, heartbeat, etc. There are three major functions this system performs. Sensory nerves connected to our eyes, face, ears, nose and rest of our body, gather information about the environment and transmit it via the spinal cord to the brain. The brain reacts or interprets that information and responds, sometimes by engaging motor functions to move or cognitive functions that spur thought. Two of the three major functions, sensory and motor, are already technologies embedded in the human body. These technologies are localized but imagine if they become part of a network, receiving software upgrades and patches much like any computing device?
There is a lot of buzz about smart technologies such as homes, alarms, cars and so forth. And while there are certainly advantages to these smart, networked technologies, there are also associated security and privacy concerns. If you can arm and disarm your home alarm system remotely over the Internet using fiber or wireless technologies, chances are someone else can too. The possibilities when applied to cybernetics are fundamentally transformative, where we envision a future where technology is embedded in our senses, blood vessels, digestive tracts, muscle tissue and brains. Imagine seeing light in different spectrums or with the magnifying powers of a microscope or telescope? Imagine if we could access the global network by simply “thinking” and transmitting those thoughts via wireless technology. Telepathy would not be something out of a science fiction novel, it would be. Instant access to a memory bank of global and unlimited information makes the “downloading” of skill sets and instant education portrayed in the movie Matrix a reality. These technologies will serve as sensory, physical and mental amplifiers, exponentially increasing our intelligence, perception and control of our environment. This profound revolution or biotechnological mutation will dramatically impact how humans fit into society, for better or worse. Will it be the ultimate transcendence or the most oppressive totalitarianism unchained that the world has ever seen?
Assuming we are able to develop and implement embedded technologies, what does society look like? How do we perceive and fit into reality? Are we still unique individuals who are able to realize our full potential or an interconnected hive or colony with strict divisions of labor possessing the ability to orchestrate our efforts toward whatever collective goal those at the top of the caste system direct. Yes, think Star Trek and the Borg. If we could see through the eyes of others on the other side of the world, understand their language as it is interpreted and transmitted as “thought” to us via a global network, and experience what they feel, would that result in enhanced understanding and interaction or disdain and hatred? If we are able to monitor our body’s cells for early signs of the development of cancer so we can catch and treat it in time, would that same technology be used to monitor our thoughts for “thought crimes” as was the case with Orwell’s Big Brother, the latest spin of this classic tale of course is the movie Minority Report using the pre-crime division.
Finally, how will this technology be deployed if at all? Will it go to a few, those who can afford it or will it be available to everyone? How will an almost infinite number of connections between humans impact the fabric of society? Ovid’s legendary myth of Daedalus and Icarus is instructive when Daedalus warns his son regarding the use of the artificial wings he invented so they could both escape exile by flying over the ocean, “Let me warn you, Icarus, to take the middle way, in case the moisture weighs down your wings, if you fly too low, or if you go too high, the sun scorches them. Travel between the extremes.” Unfortunately, as the story goes, arrogance got the better of Icarus who flew too close to the sun melting the wax of his wings, invented by his father Daedalus and he plunged into the sea. Let us heed the sage advice of Daedalus as we move forward during this extraordinary stage in our evolutionary development.