Implants

belladonic-haze said:

LOL, I could never shake his hand, because my pacemaker can be malfunctioning due to magnetic fields and so on....

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They're tiny, so I doubt that they would hurt a pacemaker, in reality.

If I had more blessings, I would post a link to the site where the guy who has them discusses them.

They do have some drawbacks, as he mentions. It's not perfected.

Adiya said:

As long as these implants do not have microchips in them which involve us swearing an allegiance to the antichrist

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Quoted for amusement factor. Every day, some guy with implants wakes up, flicks on his implant enhanced eyes, and starts off the day by reciting "I pledge allegiance...to the Anti-Christ..."

The issue I have with BICT (Bio-mechanical Information Communication Technology, yes I just made up the term on the spot. ), is the issues which are inherently problematic with computers.. Computers as they are do run 100% proficiently/productivity, because of breakdown of parts. The reason I say this is because imbedded systems have the same potential. Hence imagine if you somehow corrupted a microchip on your spinal cord.

Another issue is with privacy and security, BICT adds another meaning to virus and drive by hacking.

Also EMP (electromagnetic pulse), in some natural disaster an EMP can make many computer systems completely useless, there are also things such as EMP grenades and other such weapons. EMPs by some people are also considered to be the cause of some illnesses, and weaknesses, although this is still under scientific questioning atm.

With ethics and moral, privacy may come into it, such as an implant to monitor and record when and how you go to the toilet.

However I am interested in the study where humans are able to move a mechanical arm just by touching it with their finger and thinking how to move it (because of our nervous system).

Helo said:

Fast-foreward maybe 20 years from now.

The science of improvement implants, once science fiction, is now science fact.

You can get implants to prove your vision, reflexes, hearing, senses of touch, taste, and smell, mental alertness. Strength implants are given standard to law enforcement and military personell but are illegal for civilians.

My question is this, do you think such a thing is or should be ok? That we use technology to improve ourselves in minor ways.

Im not talking about integrating a computer into our brains, Im talking about improving things like eye-sight and reflexes with a bio-mechanical implant

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As long as it's totally voluntary choice, has minimal impact on the surrounding environment, and is not misused to spy or impact on a person's life (either the person who got the implant, or those who interact with the person who got the implant.)

I chose the listing option.

I do not mind implants to improve quality of life: allowing the blind to see, limbs for the limbless, ability to taste for those who can't, etc. However, when it comes to enhancing beyond what the average person can do I'm thinking we shouldn't allow this to minors. I'm sure there are jobs where improvements could prove more useful. I think if such things became popular they'd almost have to segregate sports. I mean, a few enhanced hockey players could do so major damage to the player who isn't. Not to mention making skirmishes more difficult for the referee to breakup. I personally would find it distasteful in most cases.

I had a cataract removed from my right eye last year. The clouded lens was replaced with a new, artificial lens in my eyeball. Truly a miracle, my vision was so poor in that eye before the surgery that I was not able to drive at night any longer. Now the vision in my right eye is 20-20, without glasses. I am all for the advances in medicine that can improve our lives, whether they are natural or artificial in nature.

All for implants, with only a few caveats. Personally, I don't want any. Not a body-mod guy myself, though I love tats and piercings on women :o

Implats though need a few restrictions on minors. Parents shouldn't beable to have their child implanted unless it is for a medical reason(pace-maker, lens replacement, etc). And minors probably need to reach an age of consent before being able to get implants without parental consent.

Sports will need some form of regulation if/when such technology provides a notcieable edge to implanted players.

Strict production regulation will be needed to ensure the best possible care is taken to avoid potenial hacking or tampering with implants in such a way as to cause harm to others.

But all in all such tech promises a wide range of benefits, and is a pretty much unavoidable development of the current century

OdwinOddball said:

A

Sports will need some form of regulation if/when such technology provides a notcieable edge to implanted players.

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Wasn't there a controversy about something like that already involving base ball and laser eye surgery?

Dracon427 said:

Wasn't there a controversy about something like that already involving base ball and laser eye surgery?

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And about the way the reattach torn ligaments in the arm improving something to do with throwing the ball . . .

I think the ethical problems would arise from cases of who gets them and who doeasn't, kind of like GATTACA. Maybe only the rich could afford them, leading to a class system defined by physical attributes. Imagine implants that could allow coal miners to spend days underground but found it difficult to function above. It would be very easy to keep people in their job forever.
But I guess those are more social ethics than bio ethics.

That said, here's a little freaky fact that I was kind of reminded of:
Human bodies are home to billions of microorganisms, most of which are neutral or beneficial to us. They are so numerous that the number of microbe cells outnumbers human cells. In essense over fifty percent of our bodies are made up of other creatures.