Thanks to 3D printing and advances in material sciences, questions I had a few years ago about what data is sent, how we are regulated, and of course illusive ownership are hitting home for biomedical, implanted devices. I wrote about some of these issues in a short piece about the implications of a post-human world. I thought about implanted medical devices and the idea that we are becoming appliances with all the contracts and data issues we see online moving to the body.
On the one hand, I love some of the outcomes of this engineering. For example, what if we all could be the Bionic Woman? Michael McAlpine of Princeton may be making it so that anyone could have a bionic ear, and he wants to improve us even more. He is engineering:
a synthetic ear made with a 3-D bioprinter, is a realization of that vision. The complex biomechanical structure was fabricated by depositing live cells and conductive silver in layers. It started as an exploration of material properties, but commercial applications started to appear rapidly. He discovered that cochlear implants, a leading treatment for those with some hearing impairment, are made by hand in a slow and laborious process with costs to match.
His work draws on the way hearing works. The interface sends “the electronic signal right into your medula and brings us one step closer to a world where we can learn kung fu by plugging into a computer.” That idea is fantastic (as in fantasy) but his main point, “It will just be considered normal that you have electronics embedded in your body, … You won’t think its weird that a door will just open up as you walk towards it. We will become cyborgs and it will be seen as just a normal thing” connects to my piece.
So on the other hand, as these changes move forward, we will have to consider what is control over health and other data that may come from within us. Security and hacking will take on new dimensions. I also think that class will play a role. If devices and surgery are expensive but “natural” will only the rich get to have them? Will the poor be stuck sneaking steroids will the privileged pay for dexterity enhancement?
I don’t think dystopia is ahead. I think these questions are the right and fun ones to consider and manage. Again the New Year looks good.
P.S. Jamie Boyle’s Shamans, Software, and Spleens is ever more relevant, as we move into the next technology era.