The Techno-Human Shell

The Techno-Human Shell-A Jump in the Evolutionary Gap, discusses smart prosthetics and medical devices for therapeutics, particularly the implications of the proliferation of in-the-body technologies to augment and enhance physical performance, intelligence, extending lifetimes and controlling technology outside the body via digital I/O and thought. It looks at the history of a number of therapeutic devices, such as the modern pacemaker, as well as the current state-of-the-art and conjectures as to where science and technology is headed. For example, medical and prosthetic technology now verge on incorporating directly into our anatomy processors with the computational power of the famous Watson IBM computer and Internet-like communications. We witness Pistorius using twin prosthetics to achieve Olympic fame, and Hutchinson, paralyzed by a stroke, mind-control a robotic arm through a brain implanted sensor about the size of an 80 mg aspirin. Other advances will soon come from the merging of synthetic DNA and artificial intelligence that together will bring new diagnostics, medical treatment and smart nano-prosthetics well within the horizon of the next generation. A prosthetic genome hastens the day when artificial and enhanced life forms, such as human organs, can be made entirely from a fusion of living organisms and non-living materials.

The book delves into how, overtime, artificially altered and controlled metabolisms may begin to alter the progression of natural biological evolution. At what point does the widespread application of cyborg-assisted-life change our attitudes about what the notion of “human” means. The book also focuses on the moral implications of the new technology, its influence on culture, personal identity and autonomy, and why we need to begin a national conversation so that we can prepare for what inevitably lies ahead.