Which futuristic technology would you accept in or on your body and why?
I would definitely not use any technologies that use internet or can be hacked remotely. But I would accept some that would help my life significantly.
I'll take a cybernetic heart. I was born with a heart defect, and one heart attack was enough for me. I'd love to know what it felt like to have endurance too.
There's just so much that can go wrong with it that I don't trust it at all. Even the best, most well tested systems have bugs and critical flaws.
But then also there's he worry that the company making whatever you use goes under or stops supporting it. Imagine getting a message one day like "We're sorry, but we will no longer support the SuperEye 5400TL API after June 30th. If you wish to keep your sight, please purchase our newest model, the 6400TLX, from our website and choose the subscription plan that is right for you!"
I mean it depends on your definition of "near" - in theory, we have the necessary basis: CMOS-chips which are "good enough" to replace vision and patches of electrodes to relay the information. The big issues afaik are a) getting that chip INTO the eye without damaging it and b) figuring out where and how the electrodes need to sit to create an image. Without the need for an actual cybernetic eye but instead by replacing the retina and optical nerve it's one of those "maybe in 10 years"-things I would say. Not an expert on the field though.
I would really like some kind of augmented reality device that adds an RPG like interface to real life. Especially some kind of quest management system to keep track of tasks and display my current objective to the side. This combined with an xp system could help me gamify tasks at least to tha point of being bearable. Meters for vitals would also come in handy as I often forget to eat and drink, but I don't have this issue when playing survival games for some reason.
Despite being in its infant stage (and way too expensive), the newish Apple HMD is a bit of another step in that direction. US-Military also has been testing rather futuristic VR/AR-Goggles for infantry use (the Airforce already uses something similar). The bad news is that our current "best" attempts for good AR are looking at a screen that shows a live-feed of the "outside" and adds in the required information.
We already have people getting implants and companies leave the space for go belly up and you're stuck with a useless piece of plastic in you. No thank you.
It's bad enough when you get something cloud connected and the company disappears, leaving you with expensive e-waste.
Now it's in your body and you likely have to pay to remove it (plus surgery risks) or leave it there knowing no one will help cover costs if there are complications from it.
Or, possibly worse, companies changing terms after the fact. Who knows when they decide to start upcharging for a feature you got for free before. Or they "upgrade" something and start collecting data that you didn't originally consent to. Giving up part of your body to a soulless corporate whore sounds like a nightmare. I would only approve of things I could remove myself should they become problematic.
I'll go for something simple and possibly more realistic. Just give me a programmable NFT implant on the back of my hand or something that i can use to pay for things, open doors, unlock computers, etc
I just want non-volatile storage. Give me a hard drive that I can read and write to. Use it for to-do lists, or grocery lists. Instead of physically reading a book with my eyes just upload it to my drive and peruse it at my leisure inside my own head. Recipes go there. Even if it's text-only I can think of a million uses for it. Add the ability to store and retrieve images or videos and it gets even better. My memory isn't that great and the sheer increase in quality of life that it could give me would be astronomical.
The ability to download knowledge to your brain (like in The Matrix). Doesn’t have to require internet, can be a plugin sort of thing (not as intense as The Matrix being at the base of the skull)
There was a description in a book, wish I could remember which (most likely William Gibson) where a character pops in a chip so they can speak another language. The description of the information unfolding in their brain was really cool.
I would pretty much accept any technology that brings me closer to being a full android or lengthens my lifespan. Artificial brain, tracking tech, etc. I would be willing to accept a lot of compromise for eternal life and I feel this route is probably has the best chance of actually happening within my lifespan. Cyberhorror aspects aside, I figure once the lifespan increases, given an infinite period of time eventually the problems will sort itself out. If it gets too awful I assume I could probably maintain enough control to off myself at some point so it's all good.
Also, I know the chances are still very small, fractions of a percent or whatever, but its non-zero and most other avenues seem to be just flat zero outright.
The problem with immortality is the damaging century long conservatism of society it would cause. Imagine a few rich immortals in charge of everything forever. Some scientists joke that "science progresses one funeral at a time". Well imagine a society where the arts, sciences and the economy never change.
Immortality is not a gift. It's a curse. The problems won't go away, they'd only increase. Death is the Great Equalizer. If we remove it, balance is removed as well.
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