Author: Kendall B.

I think human augmentation will evolve to the point where we will have biotechnological body parts. If someone’s arm is amputated, then doctors and/or engineers can help/work together to give the patient a robotic arm. I believe technology will be very beneficial to society and will 100% make a large impact on the health industry. However, I also see a downside pertaining to the future of human augmentation in my lifetime. For example, Elon Musk and his team have already created a brain chip to implant in patients’ lives that allow them to control computers just by thinking. This can create many privacy issues when it comes to corporations owning basically a piece of our body. I think options will be very diverse in the future because, as time passes, human beautification rises. Meaning more and more people will want surgery to make themselves fit the standard at the moment. I’m not sure what specifically the options would be, but I know for sure that companies would take advantage of people’s insecurities and use that as monetization. For instance, we might see products marketed to make individuals feel “perfect” or “enhanced,” leading to a societal shift in what is considered normal or acceptable. This could create an environment where people feel pressured to conform to unrealistic standards, making it harder to embrace individuality. I would not be willing to try any adaptations that involve deviating from nature. All adaptations are unacceptable for me because I do not want to modify my body. However, for other people, they can do anything they want with their body because that’s their life; so that wouldn’t be unacceptable to me. Ultimately, while I see the potential benefits of human augmentation, I also think we must be cautious about the ethical and societal implications it brings.

I think that corporations may be heading in that direction but not to the extent that was shown in Blade Runner. I think companies will start invading consumer’s privacy even more than they do now. With the way technology is advancing, companies are already tracking more about us than we realize. They collect our data from every click, search, and purchase we make, using it to build profiles on us to figure out how to sell us more things. As technology continues to evolve, I believe they will push these boundaries even further, finding new ways to monitor what we do and use that information to their advantage. I also believe that they will start taking advantage of people and their finances because they know they can monopolize their efforts. Some companies are already making it harder for consumers to shop around or break free from their services. They create ecosystems that make it difficult for people to stop using their products once they’ve bought into them. By owning the devices we use, the apps we rely on, and even the ways we pay for things, these companies gain more control over our choices. They know that once we become dependent on their products, we’re less likely to look for alternatives, even if they raise prices or make things harder for us. The corporation in the movie Blade Runner uses human identity as a way to commodify people’s inner insecurities. They create replicants, beings designed to serve humans, but with short lifespans, making them more easily controlled. This idea isn’t too far off from how companies today use our fears and insecurities to sell us things. Whether it’s ads telling us we need to look or feel a certain way, or products that promise to solve all our problems, companies are already tapping into these emotional triggers to make money. It’s a dangerous path, and if profit continues to be the only focus, companies will keep pushing the limits of how much they can control.