I have a confession, I am a Cyborg.

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I have a tiny powerful computer attached to me possibly, 90 – 100% of my day, depending on how you perceive attached.

I’ve just finished reading / listening to an audio book on robots and genetics. Robot Geneticists – Eve 14 Collection.

While it was a Sci Fi series, it made me think about present day robots and genetics, which are currently separate entities, but not forever, there will be a day when human genetics and robotics merge into one entity and I am in support of this process, I am of the belief that rather than it be robots versus humans, it would be far better, to work together as one.

Robots and machines have always fascinated me, we are smack in the middle of the machine era and embarking on the robotic AI era.

Cyborgs.
Yes, I am a cyborg.

My tiny computer / mobile phone, is my external database addon to my brain.
If it isn’t physically in my hand or attached to me via headphones, either with a headphone jack or Bluetooth, depending on what security zone I’m in, network or satellite I am hooked up to, then it is sitting in clear sight. Even when it’s not physically attached to me, it is still attached via one of my senses, sight and sound.

With my tiny computer I can:

• Contact anyone via multiple sources:
  • Old fashioned phone call.
  • SMS.
  • Email.
  • Social media.
  • WebChat.
• Scour a news feed online, instantly across multiple sources.
• Research topics and find relevant information.
• Spell check or look up terms AI don’t know. ( Autocorrect automatically changes I to AI, creepy).
• Get directions via 3D maps with voice directions.
• Calculate large equations with a built-in calculator, no more long hand.
• Shop and pay for things that physically exist but not where I am, I’m seeing and experiencing the hologram or digital replica.
• I can listen to music or create music.
• Take photographs and edit them.
• Play games.
• Create artwork, videos and distribute them.
• All my banking /finance can be done, along with immediately signing documents and sending them with End to End Encryption.
• I can write and read all forms of docs, excel, word, pdf , text, Web docs etc.
• Read or listen to a book.
• I can design a website and create all its content including the coding on my phone.

The dynamics have already shifted.

We no longer have to memorize traditional formats or information, we just have to learn and remember how to control, access and use our personal, tiny and attached computer.

This may sound easy, but it’s not, ask many baby boomers.

Using a mobile phone / tiny computer or any computer for that matter, is not that easy or straight forward. They are complex, and while they can make things more accessible, you first have to be able to understand that cyborg part of yourself and be able to control it, to benefit you.

Technology is a prerequisite for anyone who wants to prosper and survive in the current and future world.

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you understand it, or able to apply that information to required tasks or undetermined paths.

Cybernetics is the study of the control and communication in machines and animals. ( humans are classified as animals) The use of feedback loops involve the circling of information to control a device to adjust behaviour. eg.

• If your human body temperature is too low or high, the information gathered by your body’s biological heat sensors, is fed back to your brain, which then acts to correct the temperature by telling you to do something like drink more water or add or remove clothing etc.
• Similarly, a thermostat uses feedback when it corrects the operation of a heater / furnace to maintain a set temperature.

As a child we learn how to use, access and control our biological computer called our brain to understand, adapt and use the data processed to benefit us for specific tasks , and we are forever upgrading and fine-tuning that built-in computer. Now we have another brain, and have to do the same with that.

Oh my…… ❕, we are the two headed monsters depicted in bygone myths and folk stories.

This two headed monster however, is possibly what will keep us from being destroyed by our own creations, robots.

Our biological brain is what makes us each unique, our irrational abilities, our ability to dream, our subconscious. As cyborgs we have that added database and processing power, but the robots are a long way from having our brain, and even when/if they do, hopefully we can be on an equal standing with them. However we unfortunately don’t know enough about our own brains to say this for sure. So this is still an open area of discovery.

I’m hoping experts in this field will add supplementary information to this blog post, as I can’t currently contact them.
“I’m trying hard to hook into their wavelength” – Heidi M

Below is a 15 min video on “Team Cyborg” How we’ll become cyborgs and extend human potential | Hugh Herr-a double amputate with bionic limbs.

Below is a short 5.12min video by Think Big – Douglas Rushkoff who is on “Team Human“. Listen to his view.

Robotics studies the control of mechanical robots, they must control their motion to manipulate objects and avoid obstacles.

Robotics enable machines. These machines perform complicated tasks by combining motion planning, the interpretation of visual and sound information, and artificial speech.

Robots with Artificial intelligence, are being developed to operate without human supervision. This is the pinnacle goal and could be used in space exploration and driverless cars.

AI-Artificial Intelligence has 6 components.

1. Knowledge representation (eg. diagnose disease) and reasoning (probabilities).
2. Planning and problem solving– Identify sequences and accomplish specified goals.
3. Speech and natural language processing– Communicate in a human language instead of a programming / coding language.
4. Machine learning– Learn from examples and expertise.
5. Computer vision- Recognize patterns and objects.
6. Robotics- Control the mechanical robots.

Transhumanism,
is expected by many experts to be broadly evident by 2030.

Transhumanism is the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology.

Seven areas expected to be prominent with transhumanism are:

1. Our bodies will be Augmented.

• We’re already well accustomed to external augmentation through eyeglasses / contact lenses, wristbands that monitor fitness levels or medical conditions, hearing aids, bionic limb replacements etc.
• We are also well established with internal augmentation such as heart valves /pacemakers, hip replacements, blood transfusions, vascular stents and of course false teeth, don’t laugh! False teeth are possibly the most common augmentation, especially as you age, continually re-growing your own teeth would be ideal .
• Brain microchips, neural lace etc will be the next level of augmentation.
• CRISPR gene editing will eliminate many diseases.

Below inset, is an excerpt from a very recent article on successful CRISPR Human trials.

“First CRISPR Trial Data Hold the Promise of Curing Human Disease

In a landmark event on Tuesday, CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) released the first in-human trial data based on CRISPR gene-editing technology.

The verdict? Not only did it work, but it cured two patients of rare hematologic diseases: beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease!“

Read more at Research – Ark – Invest for an easy to understand overview, 2nd section of the article.

Further scientific reading at CRISPR Therapeutics Press Release

2. Our thought processes will be faster and more transferable through wearable and implantable devices.

• BMIs (Brain Machine Interfaces) are in development from organizations that include Neuralink, Facebook, and DARPA.
• BMI’s will enable communication at the speed of thought in its full, unfiltered state.

3. Gamification and Behavioural science will increase human productivity.
UBER already does this with:

• The next drive option unknown.
• Not reveal the profitability of the next drive (uncertainty technique used in gambling).
• Giving awards.
• Graphical interface like a game.
• Goals that are always just out of reach to encourage continued pursuit.

For the record I don’t support this last point, and I am not 100% sure of the extent to which Uber uses it. I think it’s important for people to get that feeling of accomplishment through reaching a goal, which then spurs them on to chase the next goal. Continually keeping people purposefully from not reaching their goals will after repetition become demoralizing, and with many personality types cause them to give up when they realize it is unobtainable, and possibly cause serious psychological problems.

4. We will be more empathetic. This will rise through Virtual Reality experiences and being able to physically and emotionally experience what others are doing and feeling.

• VR will better connect businesses to their users /consumer base or target market to maximize their experience and in turn business profits, the circular economy flourishes. And let’s face it, we all want and need money to live.

Below is a 20 min video of Art, Empathy and Transformation.
Leading location-based VR authority, Bob Cooney. How empathy for the audience enables Creation of transformational VR experiences to earn money. 2018 at VR Days in Amsterdam.

• Secondly VR empathy will benefit nonprofits by conveying their message with complete immersion in an experience for greater fundraising.

Below is a 10 min VR video from The United Nations – Is it possible to stand in the shoes of a refugee or know what it’s 1like to face an Ebola epidemic? May 2016

5. Emergence of extreme personalization and customization.
We will be able to completely configure things to suit our personal needs and preferences.

• Digital online access allows for rapid adoption and the transfer of data with goods and services from both the consumer end as well as the manufacturer and business end, for goods and services ranging from fashion to holidays, along with medical services that range from visual makeovers to life saving Biohacking procedures.

Below is an 8 min video on Biohacking – Car T Therapy, whereby a biologist goes into a patients genetic code and reprograms their immune system to recognise and fight cancer.

• This will be aided by 3D printing machines, both bioprinting ( biological printing of food, medical organ parts for transplants etc ) and solid state printing ( printing objects from metal, plastic, cloth, etc) .

Below- Watch “Scientists 3D Print a Human Heart and more!” on YouTube – 7 min

6. Business practices will change.

• Smart factories.
• Industrial IOT (Internet of Things)
• AI board members.
• Businesses will need AI to analyze data and patterns with speed and accuracy to allow the organizations to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive environment.

Below inset is an excerpt from a Jing Daily article about Advanced Data Querying Technologies.
Luxury items are a big market in China and globally, but more so for the experience they bring a person, and let’s face it we all want a little pampering now and then and deserve it. Whether it’s a facial or a nice product we’ve had our eye on, or a Luxurious holiday.
I would prefer to buy one luxury and quality item / service, than 5 cheap low quality items.

Why Luxury Brands Need Artificial Intelligence

“AI is just a small part of what I call advanced data querying technologies. These technologies also include machine learning and advanced data analytics. AI is part of a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure that I suggest all brands implement

In my view, it’s not optional — it’s a necessity for luxury brands to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market environment.” – Daniel Langer

Key points :
▪️Knowing who influences your brand.
▪️Identify communication strategies, content, and priorities.
▪️Making the right decisions.
▪️Don’t just trust your gut, use data as well.

*Daniel Langer is CEO of the luxury, lifestyle and consumer brand strategy firm Équité, and the professor of luxury strategy and extreme value creation at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He consults some of the leading luxury brands in the world, is the author of several luxury management books, a global keynote speaker, and holds luxury masterclasses in Europe, the USA, and Asia.

Read More at Jing Daily

7. Conversations focused on our societal values will gain a great deal of attention.

Philosophical debates regarding our values as individuals, countries and species. – This is exactly what we ( you and I, along with everyone else who reads this and comments or talks about these topics) are currently doing.

Below inset is an excerpt from an article outlining the highlights from a white paper on The Melding of the Physical and Digital Worlds, released in June 2019.

Transhumanism: Where Physical and Digital Worlds Meld

Saracco is co-chair of the IEEE Digital Reality Initiative, which seeks to advance artificial intelligence, augmented reality, machine learning, smart sensors, virtual reality, and related technologies.

“Through the transhumanism, cyberspace and physical reality will be our perceived reality,” he says. “Human augmentation and machine augmentation are converging, creating a new symbiotic creature.”

Read more at Spectrum IEEE

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