Preface
Aim
Scientific and technological developments related to human augmentation are beginning
to accelerate and converge with other fields such as sensors, artificial intelligence, novel
materials, nanotechnology and additive manufacturing. This publication is the output of a
strategic implications project and offers a conceptual model for thinking about the subject,
an overview of the future direction of human augmentation and related fields of study, and
identifies key implications and insights for Defence.
Audience
Human Augmentation – The Dawn of a New Paradigm seeks to inform a wide audience
across the defence and security sector. It will be relevant to those involved in: policy and
strategy formulation; science and technology; concepts and force development; capability
and acquisition; procurement; personnel and workforce planning; and operational
commanders and their staffs.
Context
This strategic implications project is a bilateral cooperation between the Bundeswehr
Office for Defence Planning in Germany and the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MOD)
Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, supported by the Swedish Defence
Research Agency, the Finnish Defence Research Agency and the UK’s Defence Science
and Technology Laboratory. It is coherent with the UK’s Joint Concept Note (JCN) 1/18,
Human-Machine Teaming and JCN 1/17, Future of Command and Control. This project
has been set in the context of the UK MOD’s Defence Technology Framework, Global
Strategic Trends – The Future Starts Today and Future Operating Environment 2035. It
is also coherent with the German Future Topic Human Enhancement and its subsequent
recommendations. This work has also drawn on engagement across the Defence
scientific community, academia and the ongoing Multinational Capability Development
Campaign’s project on human performance optimisation/enhancement.
Scope
Human augmentation is a vast field with many linkages to other areas of study. There
is no commonly agreed definition and it is known by many names, which are often
used interchangeably. When we think of human augmentation it is easy to imagine
science fiction inspired suits or wonder drugs that produce super soldiers, but we are on
the cusp of realising the benefits in a range of roles now. Human augmentation will help
to understand, optimise and enhance performance leading to incremental, as well as
radical, improvements.
There are divergent views on how mature human augmentation technologies are and
how quickly they will progress. This publication will seek to clarify this picture and
identify which areas have the greatest potential for Defence. Human augmentation has