Even if the summer did not offer us the weather we were expecting it would, the mood of the nation was certainly lifted, if not transformed, by Olympic fever. Concerns over security, transport, infrastructure and even generally the British way of doing things soon began to dissipate as Danny Boyle’s awe inspiring opening ceremony commenced. All this before we had even reached Super Saturday and the subsequent ‘gold rush’!
The Paralympic Games were also a time for celebration. By all accounts these games have always been growing in strength over the years but the 2012 Paralympic games looks set to be remembered for the games coming of age. What I found interesting was the general level of celebration and mood that permeated the country. Putting aside one obvious reason for this, namely that the games were being hosted in the UK, I think there was something about human achievement and excellence which captured our attention afresh. This was particularly so in the case of the Paralympics where as we celebrated with the likes of David Weir and Ellie Simmonds, we recognised something of the human spirit overcoming adversity in order to attain the prize. In this context, a partnering between technology and human is celebrated whilst a similar relationship in the Olympics is questioned and cautiously embraced. Think: drug doping.
Future Olympics Games
Reflecting further on this, in many respects it could be said that the link with technology is less obvious in the Olympics. Watching David Weir race around the athletics tracks you are clearly able to see the technology with which he partners in order to compete. Yet the technology involved in designing Andy Murray’s tennis racket, the science behind the rowing sculls and the design of the athlete’s running shoe, is less obvious but not less important. Making such a statement, I am well aware there are sets of profoundly important questions which quickly emerge centred around issues of ethics, values, law, society and technology which makes the context appear far simpler than it is in reality. Nevertheless, as I think upon the events of the summer I cannot help but wonder what the Olympics of the future or at least the Olympics in 40–50 years time will look like? Could the distinction between Olympics and Paralympics even be lost as a union between the two Games occur and what we celebrate is the human skill and achievement in being able to utilise technology? A celebration of a union between human body and technology?
Superhuman
These kind of questions fall within the theme of human enhancement which forms the inspiration behind an exhibition currently running at the Wellcome Trust.
“Superhuman” is advertised as taking a “broad and playful look at our obsession with being the best we can be”. Easily accessible and perhaps a shining example of public engagement, this exhibition which is easily navigated within a hour (but well worth making the time to engage with longer) really helps to put on display in a space equivalent to just a few rooms, the pertinent issue of human enhancement. Much has been written on this topic in recent years so what does Super Human bring to the discussion? I offer three distinctive features which I think contribute to the exhibition’s significance.
1) Enhancement has a history
First, Superhuman helps to make the point that really human enhancement is not some new endeavour. It is actually something that has fascinated the human mind for quite some time. The idea of wanting to improve our performance, appearance, and experience has been the driving force behind many inventions, so much so that we may not even consider them as enhancements.
As Prof John Harris and other have argued, spectacles and hearing aids can all be regarded as a form of human enhancement. Walking around the well designed and curated exhibition, there is a real potency to Superhuman in helping to provide context for what can at times be treated as an elusive, sci–fi inspired theme. As you enter the exhibition and see the ethereal figure of Icarus flying, come face to face with an ancient Egyptian prosthetic toe and browse amusingly at the Punch illustration of the “General Adoption of the Rolling Skate” you quickly gain an appreciation that much of what we discuss as being ‘new’ today actually has very strong historical roots; not least the ingenuity of the human project to want to better ourselves and use technology to see humanity flourish.
This is nowhere more poignantly seen than in the section of the exhibition which looks at the Thalidomide medical disaster which caused many thousands of babies to be born with significant deformities. The UK government responded to the tragedy by funding the design of special prosthetic limbs for the children who were affected. You cannot help but be struck by the clash of innovative fervour and human endeavour to succeed as you survey the exhibits of cumbersome and mechanical braces and limbs. All designed with the intention of restoring some degree of quality of life back to children’s lives and yet at the same time not quite making the mark. Contrast this with video footage of those children who managed to adapt and live out lives without full limbs but appear to be just as content and happy as any other ‘normal’ child. As you reflect on the fact that human enhancement is not necessarily a new phenomena, you also wonder on the equally timeworn truth that technology does not always hold all the answers.
2) Enhancement has a present
You don’t have to merely look back to the past or forward to the future to observe the impact of human enhancement. We are not currently in a cultural vacuum waiting for the next wave of enhancement technologies to hit. One of the current themes in the human enhancement conversation is the use of cognition enhancing drugs and is featured about half way through the Super Human exhibition.
A poll run by the University of Cambridge’s Varsity newspaper has revealed the fact that 1 in 10 students already use cognition enhancing drugs such as Modafinil, whilst one in three said that they would take concentration enhancing medication if offered the opportunity. The results of this poll help to put this issue into sharp focus alongside the emerging body of literature which is appearing on this subject and which clearly has a profound impact on the future of wider society, not least in terms of work culture and education. In an economical climate which is causing us to assess how to generate more with less, the attraction of working longer hours but with increased levels of concentrations and stamina is understandably attractive. But on the other hand, ‘at what cost’ are we attaining this increased concentration? Are we increasing productivity at the expense of quality of life? Could creativity, which generally requires relaxation and the loosening of mental concentration, actually be lost rather than improved in light of the fact that concentration is heightened through the use of cognition enhancing drugs?
Crucially we need to realise that these drugs and their use are occurring now. Today. Not a just a possibility but a fact. Period. In understanding this it should motivate us to grasp the urgency of the issue not only in terms of what it means for us today but also prepares us to make decisions that will undeniably shape where we are heading in terms of the future.
3) Enhancement has a future
Not surprisingly talk of transhumanism, the work of Professor Kevin Warwick and his implanted chips and Ray Kurzweil’s predictions about the future and the merger of Man and machine also feature in the exhibition. Whilst there may not be widespread agreement as to who’s prediction and thinking about the future is correct, the fact that these issues show no signs of disappearing is something that can be definitely agreed upon. The future of human enhancement technologies is still to play out. The far end wall of the exhibition displays a timeline based upon the predictions of many of the contributors to the conferences organised by the US National Science Foundation. A series which is famous for its blue–sky thinking and transhumanist influences, the predictions on display certainly demonstrate the full extent to which some thinkers are prepared to go in imagining the future from exploiting the resources of near–Earth asteroids to the eradication of many physical and mental disabilities.
But more importantly what I believe Superhuman helps to bring into sharp focus is the speed at which these advances and developments are taking place. In vividly reminding us about the future of human enhancement, it is not just about reflecting upon where we might be heading and the associated risks. It is also about the fact that we are going to arrive there quicker than we probably imagine.
Just taking the predictions for 2015 (just three years from now) in isolation for a moment, I was challenged afresh by the realisation that there is real potential for many (if not all) of these predictions to be realised within the timeframe suggested. Information tailored to our individual need available instantly anywhere in the world and the administration of business, education and government will improve due to fast, reliable communication of information. Think: Google, Twitter, Internet 2.0 and the like. Wearable sensors and computers enhance awareness of your health and environment. Think: advances in nanoscience and nanomedicine; Google glasses and advances in real time interaction.
The exponential growth of Moore’s Law which is touching and affecting us all is helping to give rise to a rapidly changing world. Benign ignorance or blatant resistance are not viable or even sensible options. It calls us to think more intelligently and proactively. The future is not more of the same; the new upgrade replacing the old, redundant model. Rather it is about disruption at exponential speed. New yet disruptive synergies and innovations and the faster things change, the more important it is to look ahead. The topic of human enhancement is not exempt from such an analysis. We need to recognise that the underlying issue behind much of the enhancement debate is fuelled by a set of old questions concerning the human desire to improve our performance, appearance, and experience. Yet looking to both the present and the future we need to realise the extent of these new technologies for us today, recognising that the future will no doubt present newer disruptive options as opposed to just more of the same; not just more students taking Modafinal but perhaps the 21st century soldier who fights his battles in real–time, 24–7 without ever leaving the confines of his barracks. With this in mind, one of the statements presented within the first few displays of the Super Human stands loud and clear: it is not just a question of what is possible but at what point we should stop.
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Superhuman is a free exhibition currently running at the Wellcome Trust until 16 October 2012. Further details can be found here.
