Part 5
Implications for
society
Our innate curiosity and desire to test the limits of human capability have acted as
drivers for development throughout human history. Commercial and individual interests
will be key drivers for human augmentation development over the next 30 years and the
implications will be far reaching. Part 5 will focus on the most relevant and profound
implications, noting that separate parts cover ethical and legal implications.
Economic
Economic interests will heavily influence the direction of human augmentation
development and they are likely to differ from society’s interests.^35 The private sector
invests more in research and development and has greater organisational agility than state
institutions, meaning it can employ the best researchers to stay at the cutting edge of
human augmentation research. Developing enhancements is likely to be highly profitable
but activities will focus on the most lucrative activities and not necessarily on those that
deliver the greatest benefit to humanity. The tension between states, societies and
market forces is nothing new, but the consequences of mismanaging a technology as
potent as human augmentation could be profound.
35 Society as the entirety of all people who live under certain political, economic and social conditions.
This publication refers to Western liberal societies in its discussion, noting that impacts in other societies will
var y.
Economic interests will heavily infiuence the direction of human
augmentation development