Part 5 – Implications for society
Just as the Information Age has seen 50% of global crime move into cyberspace,
human augmentation could see the human body become a medium of crime. While
today’s threats are relatively rudimentary, this will not be the case for long because of the
rapid rate of development of many human augmentation technologies. The diffusion of
human augmentation technology and the promise of what it might offer will create the
perfect conditions for a black market, and related crime. Illegally produced and untested
products are likely to present significant safety risks to society, for example, without
safeguards genetic and nanotech augmentations could spread uncontrollably.Key deductions and insights
- Economic forces will be a powerful influence on the rate and direction of human
augmentation development, which may not always be in the best interest of
society. - Without careful management, unequal access to human augmentation will
amplify existing societal divides. - Societies’ acceptance of human augmentation will be shaped by complex
factors that will need to be carefully considered by proponents of human
augmentation. - Human augmentation will lead to major changes in health and social care with
notable improvements in preventative health care likely. - Human augmentation is likely to lead to a significant increase in the number of
healthy years recipients can expect to live. - In the future, anyone with the right knowledge and tools could indulge in DIY
human augmentation, including modifying their own DNA. Balancing the rights
of the individual with protecting society will be a complex dilemma for regulators. - Human augmentation introduced early in life could improve education but could
also be used for manipulation. - Human augmentation should increase access to the job market, increasing
workforce diversity and productivity but it could also be used for intrusive
surveillance and lead to hyper-competitiveness, adversely affecting society. - Society will become more diverse as people use human augmentation to
express their individuality. - Human augmentation will lead to new forms of crime that will require law
enforcers to develop new capabilities.