I know I shouldn't create two topics so soon after one another, but damn it, I need intellectual stimulation! Let's talk biotechnology.

Before I begin, allow me to acknowledge that, yes, I am indeed replaying Deus Ex: Human Revolution. God, such a brilliant game. So, let's talk about the questions the game brings up.

Human augmentation, similar to that portrayed in the game, is not that far off. Given the massive strides we've taken in information technology, neural interfacing, prosthesis, and genetics, the idea of replacing healthy limbs or healthy organs with improved artificial ones will, inevitably, be a reality. I read about a firm in Michigan that is working on an artificial lung, others are working on limbs, neural enhancements have been viable for years and are only getting better, and I reckon that well within my lifetime, we'll see a world much like the one portrayed in the game.

However, there are certainly going to be problems. For example, the introduction of a new product that leads to better performance quickly becomes a necessity as those who choose not to be enhanced will be outperformed by those who are augmented, leading to a lack of freedom in this particular regard. This will also lead to an even wider income disparity, as those who can't afford augmentation are left behind. Furthermore, like in the game those who are augmented will likely have to be on immunosuppressants, and unlike the game we don't have

to save us all from this functionally addicted fate.

What are your thoughts? Is this ethical? Is it worth the widening of the income gap or the dependency on anti-immune drugs? When do you think this will happen? Do you feel like this is as important a step as many futurists are making it out to be, mankind taking our evolution into our own hands?

Without getting too political I'd like to point out that all the downsides you've pointed out about human augmentation can be applied to how medical treatment in general is dealt with in America. There are people "addicted" to certain medicines (in the sense that if they don't take their medicine they will be unable to function due to some chronic illness), and those who can't afford the medicine are basically screwed out of being able to work. So they can't make money to pay for the medicine that would allow them to make money.

So on the ethics question, I can't see how human augmentation is any less ethical than other forms of medicine, which isn't necessarily saying a whole lot. I do think human augmentation is important... but not really so that young healthy people can also have the ability to jump over buildings. The most important goal of human augmentation should be as a medical treatment--neural implants shouldn't be developed to allow for faster computational abilities, but to help manage chronic pain in people who have medical problems, for example. Not only does this seem more important to me, but it also seems way more likely. People are wary of human augmentation, but they would be far more willing to accept something that could treat a debilitating illness.

Err, actually, scratch part of that. People are wary of MOST human augmentation, but not the sort of augmentation that gives you huge fake boobs.

Well, I think that what we've seen happening already and what will continue to happen is most of the research and development being done by biotech and medical firms for medical purposes initially and then leech into other markets. However, why would it be more important to manage pain, which can be done by other means, than to enhance the efficiency of the mind, which can't really be done by any other means and has far greater returns?

I think this is an interesting phenomenon that I've been seeing... people seem to like technology up to a point, and then become wary of it. People love their phones, but they are frightened of the Glass. People love the idea of solar energy, but fusion frightens them. There has to be a reason for something that they can directly relate to, hence why prostheses for amputees are fine but an artificial limb for someone who doesn't need it is terrifying and weird. However, that seems to have more to do with general human behavior, and not ethics. Why would it be unethical to develop artificial enhancements without direct medical applications?