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Tranquil Times
This is an archive on Cyborg Soldier 2050: Human/Machine Fusion and the Implications for the Future of the DOD this is a Department of Defense report that was declassified in 2019 according to it a team was used to develop a series of vignettes as case studies for discussion and analysis including feasibility; military applications; and ethical, legal, and social implications of using current and emerging technologies relevant to assisting and augmenting human performance. They broke this into 4 vignettes those being ocular enhancements to imaging, sight, and situational awareness; restoration and programmed muscular control through an optogenetic bodysuit sensor web; auditory enhancement for communication and protection; And direct neural enhancement of the human brain for two-way data transfer. This is around 42 pages long so I went through it and picked out some of the interesting things I found The first being Efforts should be undertaken to reverse negative cultural narratives of enhancement technologies. Across popular social and open-source media, literature, and film, the use of machines to enhance the physical condition of the human species has received a distorted and dystopian narrative in the name of entertainment. For the ocular enhancements section the first thing i noticed is Future battlefields in 2050 are projected to be dense, urban environments or subterranean megacities this sounds so crazy it made check the date and doubt if this is even real, the people involved in these case studies think that within 30 years there could be subterranean mega cities As for the ocular enhancements The enhancement technology is likely to manifest itself in one of two ways.the first, as an ocular enhancement system that would overlay the ocular tissue and retain the use of the retinal walls within the existing structure, similar to systems used in ongoing research to treat adults with advanced retinitis pigmentosa.4 Data streams would be overlaid against the retinal wall and transduced through the optic nerve, where input is interpreted by the brain. In the second, more complex manifestation, which is anticipated to be mature by the year 2050, the retinal wall is not retained. In this situation, the eyeball itself is completely replaced, and data feeds pass directly into the optical nerve bundle behind the eye. The sensory input for visualization would be completely mechanical or electronic in composition, which would allow data feeds of all types and across all spectra including those previously not capable of being visualized by humans. For Restoration and Programmed Muscular Control An optogenetic control network could be used in several ways. The most likely would be in the restoration of lost function due to injury of muscles or nerves. Musculoskeletal injuries are the second leading cause of lost duty time in the U.S. Armed Forces.5 An optogenetic augmentation of the affected area would restore function while healing and treatment simultaneously continue. It could even provide a long-term replacement treatment for a permanently damaged capacity. For Auditory Enhancement this seemed to be the least out there and seems to mostly involve protecting hearing and also possibly curing tinnitus which would be cool. They also say that later on it could be used for covert speech. And finally for Direct Neural Enhancement neural implants for brain–computer interfacing (BCI) would allow for seamless interaction between individuals and secondary assets (machines). This control could be exerted upon drones, weapon systems, and other remote systems operated by an enhanced individual. Brain activity will be monitored noninvasively through electrodes placed on the scalp or skull or more invasively through the direct implantation of electrodes to the brain surface or deeper structures and networks. At present, researchers have not been able to determine whether the implantation of electrodes is reversible or to what extent affected neural networks adapt to the presence of an implant, thereby complicating removal. From the discussion section it was asked: Had anyone ever systematically assessed global perceptions on what was ethical and what was not and it turned out that one Cary Funk had done a study called “U.S. Public Wary of Biomedical Technologies to ‘Enhance’ Human Abilities,” and the outcome was the majority of Americans greeted the possibility of these breakthroughs with wariness and worry rather than enthusiasm and hope.
