Technology is advancing exponentially, and with advancement comes a journey into the unknown. The movie industry is booming with films that portray our foreseen dangerous future with creation of robots, but what is really in store for us? Singularity and biomedical engineering are two of the most popular topics in the technological field. Scientists are debating when, if, and how singularity will occur. Ethical dilemmas, surfacing from the creation of robots and biomedical engineering, are sprouting up every day. Although, no one can truly predict the future, it is important to know what is likely in store. We should take into account the benefits and possible drawbacks that may result from singularity and biomedical engineering, and consider if we should continue to pursue research in these areas.
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Scientists and doctors are working together to prevent disease, cure disease and make like easier for those with disabilities. A.I. software is able to make decisions that run a computer and is own it’s way to perform medical diagnoses, better than human doctors (Clarke, “What Does It Mean…” 71). Biomedical engineering has allowed the science of prosthetics to develop rapidly. People who have lost limbs are able to gain full function with a biomedically engineered replacement limb. Biomedical engineering can not only help those with disabilities, but can also provide enhancements for all of the human race. Richard Clarke explains that “Human capability could be enormously enhanced through genetic alteration, implants, nanotech devices, human machine interfaces, artificial body parts and direct connections to smart robots and networks of computers accessing all human knowledge” (“What Does It Mean…” 72). With the help of A.I. and biomedical engineering, people in the medical field could witness a drastic increase in
Every year countless people are diagnosed with cell based diseases, 7.6 million a year alone receive the petrifying news that they have cancer. But what if we could eliminate the idea that a cancerous diagnosis is the equivalent of a death sentence? The use of embryonic stem cells could, for the first time, make diseases like cancer or parkinson a non-issue. This is why the use of embryonic stem cells should not be viewed as unethical but rather a huge step towards unthinkable medical breakthroughs and the eradication of life threatening diseases.
In his book “Better than Human”, Allen Buchanan explores the issues that stems from the highly controversial topic of biomedical enhancements. Buchanan aims to present his view on why biomedical enhancements should be embraced and is actually not much different from the enhancements that we already have presently. The main arguments posed by Buchanan include the ethical issues that arise from allowing biomedical enhancements are not novel and can be tackled (via regulation – legally or biologically, if we want to) and tackling the issue of what is seen as “natural” and how “natural” does not equate to optimal. Additionally, biomedical enhancements – a subset of biomedical science – generate new knowledge that can equip us with the capacity
Frozen bodies, brains uploaded to computers, and the singularity - the point when robots surpass human intelligence. According to Ray Kurzweil and other spectators, this is what lies in the inevitable future. A century ago, people considered eternal life to be unachievable and a concept only related to the ancient gods. Futurists and scientists have recently started to believe that immortality is within our reach, which has captivated human interest. People find the concept promising and continue to invest in the process, without realizing the potential dangers that come with it. The technological revolution has spurned both societal ignorance and greed, and it will continue to degrade human values leaving future generations craving more than before.
Genetic Engineering has recently become a contentious topic within medical and social circles. Controversial topics such as Sex Selection and Designer Babies are linked to Genetic engineering. They are destructive in every circumstance. Genetic Engineering is detrimental towards the individual and all posterity.
I can never forget the time I wrapped slices of raw onions onto my grandpa's foot. I looked up at his strained face, and very calmly he said to me, "It burns, can you please take it off?" My dad, next to me, told me to ignore his requests. He studied Chinese medicine, and this was an Eastern remedy to lower blood pressure. My grandpa had recently had a spike in blood pressure, and it was terrifying to realize that I could have easily lost him to a heart attack or stroke.
Bar-Cohen, Y. (2009). The coming robot revolution expectations and fears about emerging intelligent, humanlike machines. Springer.
The approach to artificial intelligence should be proceeded with caution. Throughout recent years and even decades before, it has been a technological dream to produce artificial intelligence. From movies, pop culture, and recent technological advancements, there is an obsession with robotics and their ability to perform actions that require human intelligence. Artificial intelligence has become a real and approachable realization today, but should be approached with care and diligence. Humans can create advanced artificial intelligence but should not because of the harm they may cause, the monumental advancement needed in the technology, and that its harm outweighs its benefits.
By convention, the field of healthcare research was entirely occupied by physicians and doctors. They were the ones who came up with new methods to treat diseases and get better results from diagnostic tests. Technology, on the other hand, was always looked at as a way to solve problems that we faced that didn’t pertain to the medical sector. It was employed to enhance the quality of life and make day to day work easier. But as technology progressed, so did the areas of application. The structural balancing techniques which were previously used to hold a building steady were now being used to develop near-perfect artificial joints and prosthetic limbs. Transparent polymers, developed to enhance robotic vision, were being suggested as a candidate for an artificial lens for the human eye. Before anyone could even understand what was happening, engineering had taken up the mantle to further medical technology to dizzying new heights.
From the first imaginative thought to manipulate nature to the development of complex astronomical concepts of space exploration, man continues to this day to innovate and invent products or methods that improve and enhance humankind. Though it has taken 150 million years to reach the present day, the intellectual journey was not gradual in a linear sense. If one were to plot significant events occurring throughout human existence, Mankind’s ability to construct new ideas follows a logarithmic path, and is rapidly approaching an asymptote, or technological singularity. This singularity event has scientists both supporting and rejecting the concept of an imaginative plateau; the largest topic discussed is Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). When this technological singularity is reached, it is hypothesized that man’s greatest creation, an artificial sapient being, will supersede human brain capacity.
"Microchip Implants Closer to reality." The Futurist. 33.8 (1999): 9. Proquest Platinum. Proquest Information and Learning Co. Glenwood High School Lib., Chatham, IL 25 Oct. 2004
The phrase “Nobody is perfect” is appropriately accurate since there are many people who are born without arms, legs, or eventually develop organ failure. Bioengineering helps the people living without or damaged tissues and organs to live a better and comfortable life. Bioengineering will help advance and improve the health of humans by applying biology in engineering. Imagine a world without sick people, or people with deformity. This may be hard to imagine, but with the remarkable inventions and solutions developed and produced by bioengineers, this scenario we can currently only imagine in our heads will hopefully eventually become an ordinary norm. It is crucial to help people who were born with a body that restricts them from doing something everyone else can. They deserve to be able to move and be able to do tasks like every other human being.
Human enhancement is any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means. It is in our human nature that we somehow increase our life expectancy, become stronger, fearless, independent and smarter. It is no surprise we turn to all sorts of technologies – neurotechnology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology – to improve human performances. While they might improve our performances and abilities, their use raises serious health, ethical and economic issues, furthermore, not enough is known about the long-term consequences.
Bar-Cohen, Yoseph, and David Hanson. The Coming Robot Revolution: Expectations and Fears about Emerging Intelligent, Humanlike Machines. New York: Springer, 2009. Print.
Genetic engineering seems decades away, but through modern technology, it has recently entered the human realm. Some believe genetic engineering will bring forth great advancements in the human brain and body, but instead some believe one mistake creates a world where every child will be genetically engineered just to keep up with the rest of society. Many times, the media plays a very strong role in the image of this issue, and masks the true identity of this social injustice. However, what forms of genetic engineering can be done in humans today? What is in store for the future? What are the risks and what could be the possible benefits? Currently gene therapy is one of the only ways to change the genetic makeup of an animal or human. Also,
The human body contains what is needed to make technology more efficient and beneficial, all that needs to be done “is to take advantage of existing mechanisms and to alter [the] language” of current technology (Bush 4). Today the world may depend upon laptops and monitors to find and show the information of the world but the future lies in expanding upon what our bodies already do and syncing it to the