In the next 10 years, everything you know about “being human” will change…
Everything from how we think… how we’re born… and what it means to die will change in ways we can’t possibly predict.
It’s the biggest inflection point in human history. The changes in the next decade will dwarf anything we’ve seen before.
The impact will be bigger than anything we saw with the internet… the internal combustion engine… or even the printing press.
That’s a bold claim—and I don’t make it lightly. I wouldn’t have said something like that even three years ago. But it’s here now.
Right now, bleeding-edge technologies are in development that’ll either elevate mankind to new highs or throw it into chaos.
You may be skeptical. But let me show you the evidence…
“Superpowered” Humans
Science fiction has always preceded technological progress.
Before we had televisions, airplanes, and FaceTime, there were ideas of “moving pictures,” “flying machines,” and “telephots” in sci-fi novels and pulp comic books.
So the idea of “superpowered” humans might not be as impossible as we think.
Researchers at Brown University have developed tiny wireless brain implants called “neurograins.”
They’re 0.25-square-millimeter implants that can rapidly communicate with external devices like computers or smartphones.
(Source: Brown University)
This technology could allow you to control your computer and smartphone just by thinking about what you’d like to do—rather than moving a mouse or tapping a keypad.
What’s more, these implants can harvest energy from the brain’s electrical system. So they don’t need their own power source. And they can serve many purposes…
With paralysis or stroke victims, these implants could be paired with smart wheelchairs or prosthetic limbs to restore motor skills.
And thinking bigger, this technology could eventually give humans “super powers.” The ability to communicate and control objects through thought isn’t that far off.
What constitutes “normal human abilities” could change dramatically.
And that’s just the beginning…
When Humans Are “Produced”
Some of you may be familiar with CRISPR genetic editing technology.
CRISPR technology is like software programming for DNA. Basically, it allows scientists to “cut out” genetic mutations in our DNA and replace it with “healthy” versions.
CRISPR will one day allow us to cure every disease caused by a genetic mutation. But that’s not where it stops.
It can also be used to genetically modify human embryos. In essence, the technology could produce “better” human beings.
The U.S. and the West have been very vocal against genetically modifying embryos. But the Chinese have shown a willingness to take a different route.
Last November, genetically modified twins were born in China. The man responsible was a Chinese scientist, He Jiankui.
Let’s take a minute to consider the ethical implications of this. We know that genetically modifying human embryos is possible. But what’s the ethical way to use this technology?
Should we use it to increase human IQs? Or what about creating humans with denser muscle tissues? Those are very real questions the world will have to grapple with in the years ahead.
And stretch your imagination a bit further…
What if a nation or a society set up a program to ensure that every child born was stronger and smarter than any other in the world? This is precisely what Aldous Huxley predicted in his sci-fi masterpiece, Brave New World.
This was also the goal of the Nazis. They wanted to create a “master race.” And CRISPR technology in the wrong hands could one day accomplish that.
I know. It’s scary to think about.
And there’s another bleeding-edge technology that should be on your radar…
The Search for Immortality
Back in April, scientists at Yale took a pig’s head from a local slaughterhouse and brought it back to the lab roughly four hours after the pig was slaughtered.
Then, they pumped an artificial blood mixture back into the brain—and restored cellular functionality. The brain cells were able to produce energy and remove waste, helping to maintain the brain’s internal structures.
To be clear, this did not restore the pig’s consciousness, only its mechanical function. But obviously, this is an incredible feat that’s never been done before.
Now, I know this is a weird thing to do… But the potential applications for humans are simply amazing.
Think about what happens when someone has a stroke. A stroke can cause forms of brain damage—which causes loss of muscle control—leading to all kinds of problems.
That’s why stroke victims sometimes have trouble with the left or right sides of their body.
Well, guess what?
The techniques the Yale scientists are working on could restore brain function to stroke victims…
And imagine if this technology progressed further…
What if we could restore consciousness to a recently deceased brain? What if you could bring a human brain “back to life” long enough for a person to settle their affairs and say goodbye?
The implications are staggering—and might even make us a little uncomfortable.
But make no mistake, there’s a niche group of scientists devoted to eliminating death in human beings… essentially, immortality.
I’m not suggesting that’s a good thing, only that there are many technologists looking at extending life far beyond anything we can imagine. And the early results from this experiment show that it might not be as impossible as it sounds.
Plenty of Questions
If what I’ve shown you so far makes you a little uncomfortable, it should.
The ethical questions that mankind will face in the next decade will be unprecedented. There’s no historical example of what we’re going to face.
But I’m not telling you all this to worry you. As a technologist, I believe that technology has always been a force for good. And I believe technology will also solve some of society’s biggest problems in the years ahead.
But we’re at an inflection point. Over the next two decades, society will either become one of abundance for all or descend into chaos.
Time will tell which wins out.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Editor, Exponential Tech Investor
Sincerely yours Palm Beach Reseach Group
What many people do not realize is that as technology advances, it also disperses. If one examines technological advances, one sees that as they more rapidly advance, they more rapidly disperse. CRISPR is already 'in the wild' today. There's nothing magic about it, and the most expensive and difficult part of the mechanism is learning how to do it. The necessary equipment is commonly available off the shelf, at very reasonable cost. You can buy used equipment today, such as a PCR machine, for the cost of lunch at McDonald's.
3D printers are already widely dispersed throughout the population, and are able to manufacture items with materials ranging from dirt, water, plastics, food, cement, and actual living cells. I've seen brand new 3D printers for sale for as little as $50. Obviously, not all 3D printers are of equal quality, and prices can range into $millions for systems, depending on the features of the devices, but you can get started for the cost of lunch. I didn't mention the various methods of printing circuits, but it isn't a neglected medium. People will soon be printing their own computer hardware, making the kinds of implants mentioned in the OP DIY potential.
Recently a furor erupted over facial recognition technology. Well, furors erupt every day over facial recognition tech, as it is more and more intruded into our lives by surveillance happy governments and corporations, but this furor was different. It was over individual civilians using it to compare social media profiles of women to porn. The developer claimed to have identified over 100k women. Some women have raged that they might be identifiable and linked to their actual persons, but the elephant in the room seems to be little addressed: the very tech that is being used to repress civilians by despotic governments and rapine corporations has passed into the hands of their victims, and covert government actors, criminals, and the corrupt of every sort are now no longer going to be able to count on anonymity as folks using social media and facial recognition software can crowdsource identification of bad actors.
Technology always empowers individuals more than institutions over time. This has been true since the pointy stick allowed an individual to improve their chances against a gang of thugs, and I see no reason it could ever be untrue. While institutions currently are possessed of greater wealth and power due to centralization of industry and the parasitization of the production of individuals, that concentration of wealth is necessarily accompanied by centralization of authority, which limits institutional expression of that power concomitantly to the degree of it's concentration. ABC Corp may have more money to spend, but it has relatively fewer avenues to do so as it represents a greater number of individual's wealth. As technology disperses, that power of institutions increasingly becomes a disability, since the breadth of means of production cannot be fully exercised by a corporation, as it can be by a population of individuals. A corporation with the power of 1000 individuals can deploy that power in one way, but 1000 people can deploy each of their power uniquely.
Decentralization is freedom, and Centralization is despotism. Freedom is more powerful. Every time.