Human Augmentation Technology: The Future of Human Evolution and How Technology is Changing Us

In the past, people had to learn to work with computers in order to get along with each other. In the future, computers will be able to adapt to the needs of people. Interaction that mimics how people naturally engage with actual items is referred to as “natural” in this context. Due to the wide range of meanings given to ‘natural’ in the literature, it is necessary to define this concept.

A variety of technologies and UI paradigms have been developed in an effort to improve the efficiency and naturalness of user interaction. A user may now control a system via a variety of methods, including voice, hand movements, eye gazing, and even electrophysiological impulses.

It can collect data from a variety of sensors and deliver it to the user in a variety of ways, including visual, audio, and haptic presentations, in real-time. Various input and output modalities are increasingly being merged in the same job, such as the simultaneous notification of noteworthy occurrences in the surrounding environment through auditory and haptic means.

People have been trying to “augment” their bodies since the beginning of time to enable them to travel farther, faster, and higher than their inherent talents allow. When it comes to hunting, we have developed methods to extend our range with bows and arrows, to see better with glasses, and to keep our hearts beating with pacemakers – all of which have saved lives.

‘Human Augmentation’ has taken on a whole new meaning in the digital age. Movies like Terminator or RoboCop may conjure up thoughts of a future where humans and machines coexist, but what is the truth? The way people think, interact, and behave has been profoundly altered as a result of technological advancements.

Human capacities are being pushed to the limit by technological advancements, as seen by recent scientific discoveries and technologies. Technologies have “improved,” “augmented,” or even “redesigned” the way people interact with machines.

In addition to being fascinating and exciting, this has also given rise to a realistic and emerging scientific study and development notion. The concept of “Augmented Humanity” has been coined to describe this new state of affairs (AH).

Since the introduction of visual manipulation and graphical user interfaces, the growth of common contact between humans and technology has been progressive. However, the idea that a computer system is a machine underlies this approach, allowing for more efficient, precise and powerful usage of the devices (Krausz and Hargrove, 2019).

Embedded applications and intelligent user interfaces are only two examples of how this area of research has grown and changed over the last several years. Even yet, there is a clear difference between the user and the equipment. Adaptation was required in the past. In the future, computers should be tailored to the needs of their users.

Natural refers to activities that are strongly associated with the way people and physical items come into touch with each other. A pacemaker, a hearing aid, or spectacles to increase vision are all examples of existing human augmentations that people throughout the globe are used to seeing and hearing.

According to our findings, individuals throughout the world are more inclined to support current human enhancement than they are to support future human augmentation. According to 65% of those who feel augmentation is inappropriate yet accept pacemakers, the main reason is because they’re necessary for a healthy and long life.

A majority of people across the globe, regardless of where they live, want augmentation to be used for the betterment of mankind as a whole, and to alleviate human suffering. Nearly half of males (48 percent) say it is okay for humans to use technology to modify their bodies, compared to 38 percent of women, who think it is not.

Efforts to restore or enhance human capacities date all the way back to antiquity (Alicea, 2018). Most of these efforts were targeted towards replacing a missing bodily part, such as a prosthetic leg or arm. For those who wanted to go beyond the human body’s inherent capabilities, some zealous innovators developed “upgrades,” such as wings for flight (Huber et al., 2018).

A wide range of people may benefit from human augmentation goods: those who desire to enhance their human talents, those with disabilities, and those who are forced to utilize these items because of dangerous and unhealthy settings. Prosthetics, orthotics, and other physical assistive devices that restore missing or lost capabilities, exoskeletons that expand physical abilities, and head-up displays employing augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) are all examples of human augmentation equipment (VR).

Although the number of publications and books on human augmentation is on the rise, there is still no clear definition of what it encompasses or excludes. When it comes to tools, the lines may already be blurred. Even using a vacuum cleaner might make cleaning floors easier, it is not considered augmentation.

Exoskeletons raise the issue of whether they aren’t simply another tool with some added functionality. An exoskeleton, on the other hand, may become as essential to your daily activities as a vacuum cleaner. It is possible to infer that for a product or technology to be deemed an augmentation, it must be an extensional and intuitive element of the person’s existence, whereas a tool does not become an essential part of the individual’s personality.

Every day, millions of people across the world benefit from human augmentation. Even though pacemakers, for example, have not yet been subject to a widespread security threat, the researcher should keep an open mind as we look to the future and consider the advantages as well as the drawbacks of human enhancement.

Any device that is linked to the internet and with which you may exchange data is vulnerable to attack. Hacking isn’t the only option; a gadget might also be physically destroyed. When technological advancements lead to traits and skills that fall outside of what humans are capable of, they are utilized to guide the selection and modification of human characteristics and talents.

” For example, methods and solutions involving activity or chemical stimulants for improved control may fall under the category of human enhancement. Despite that, this session focused on a broad overview of human augmentation, the literature study and working principles, the obstacles, and the future trend and potential.

Human Augmentation Concept

‘Human enhancement’ encompasses a wide range of ideas. To begin, assistive augmentation is a term used to describe assistive technology designed to help the elderly or those with impairments. Assistance technology, as defined by the Tech Act of 1988 (Code United States, 2020), is anything that is intended to help people with disabilities live more independent lives.

This includes both commercially available products and those that have been developed or personalized for a specific user. The definition of “assistive technology” in the AT Act of 2004 is almost identical to that in the Tech Act, with the exception of medical equipment implanted surgically.

Applied technology is concerned with the invention and research of technology that replaces, recovers or enhances physical, sensory or cognitive skills, depending on the unique user demands (Huber et al., 2018). Second, when we talk about “human enhancement,” we’re referring to a wider area that encompasses a variety of fields, from mechanical to genetic. Medications (e.g., pharmacological stimulants that may be used to boost intellect, focus, or memory) and surgical procedures (e.g., organ transplants or implants) as well as genetic alteration are all possible methods of improving human performance and quality of life (De Araujo, 2017).

They fit within the criteria of “human enhancement,” but not human augmentation, according to Walter Anderson (2003). Human augmentation, on the other hand, alters human features and abilities, whereas human enhancement is about producing qualities that are naturally inherent in the phenotypic, unlike human augmentation, according to Anderson.

This may have enormous impacts on one’s sense of self, but it cannot change the ego. In addition, although augmentation is device-based and transient, enhancement may be long-lasting. Examples of assistive augmentation include eyeglasses, whereas lenses and laser eye surgery are considered human augmentation and enhancement. Also known as “augmented humans,” this term refers to technology that improves or supplements the human body or cognition in some way.

Concepts of human enhancement (Alicea, 2018) These technologies are referred to as Augmented Human and Human 2.0 because they boost human productivity or capacity, or because they somehow augment the human body or brain. An ever-expanding array of human enhancement technology has resulted from advances in science and technology.

When it comes to interactive digital expansions of human skills, Augmentation has become the most often used phrase. If you’re interested in learning more about augmented reality, there’s a conference and magazine devoted to it called Augmented Human (AH).

Consequently, instead of using the word human enhancement, we have utilized the term human augmentation. Perceptual interfaces (Turk, 2014), augmented reality (AR) (Schmalstieg and Höllerer, 2016), virtual reality (VR) (Jerald, 2015), and ubiquitous computing are examples of user interface paradigms that place the user first.

Several of these paradigms are shown in Figure 1. Enhancing human capabilities is a new paradigm that expands on previous paradigms by emphasizing human-computer interaction. Accompanying technologies that enhance the user’s perception, influence, or cognitive processing of the environment around them are used to assist these activities (Rekimoto and Nagao, 1995).

Human augmentation is closely associated with a few other words. Many fields are involved in human augmentation, from electrical or mechanical engineering to genetic engineering. Any effort to temporarily or permanently surpass the present constraints of the human body by natural or artificial methods is what Moore (2008) characterizes as “any attempt.”

Is it possible to choose or change human features and abilities through technology methods without resulting in qualities and capacities that beyond the present human range?” Surgical procedures (Suthana et al., 2012) or pharmaceutical stimulants, such as those used to increase attention control, may be employed to boost human performance.

Past and Present in Human Augmentation

1. Augmented senses

Both compensatory and augmented senses employ the same methodologies and technology, but in different ways, in order to compensate for or enhance the capabilities of current senses. Amplification or supplementation of the sensory messages for the damaged senses may be achieved in the first situation.

When it comes to those who are blind or deaf, for example, the usage of haptic actuators may help explain the environment to them (Shull and Damian, 2015). (Novich and Eagleman, 2015). Additional sensors are used to notice signals that are beyond the capacity of the human senses and translate them into a format that can be used by humans (Farooq, 2017). The human senses may be augmented by a variety of technology.

Users may get “eagle eyes” or night vision through light sensors or small cameras, and they could even see beyond the human eyesight wavelengths. The use of “x-ray vision” (Avery et al., 2009) to see obstructed objects is a typical example. Visionaries like Hainich (2009) have suggested that AR systems can replace most of the present computer gear and user interfaces.

AR technologies like Magic Leap One, Nrea and Focals by North are gradually bringing this vision closer to reality. Despite the fact that smart glasses still need to be developed for augmented human applications, there are currently studies indicating the positive effects of such systems. We’ve discovered, for example, that audio and haptic input may enhance the human impression of realism in AR interactions (Sand et al., 2015).

Calibration-free eye tracking approaches using visual, aural and haptic input are also significant in this area (Kangas et al., 2016); haptic guidance to direct one’s attention is another interesting study topic (Rantala et al., 2017a).

Research in the field of wearable interaction has shown that integrating gaze interaction with haptic feedback may be utilized seamlessly to support the user’s primary objectives. We’ve lately developed a number of extensions for wearable VR/AR glasses in order to further their technology. Using Sand et alproof-of-concept .’s prototype (Sand et al., 2015), users may interact with virtual 3D objects without the usage of wearable gadgets.

An optical design for virtual reality glasses (Rakkolainen et al., 2016) capable of covering even the whole human FOV has been developed. Extending the FOV of a VR viewing device and sending visual input straight to the retina for a smart glass user have recently been tested (Rakkolainen et al., 2017a) (Koskinen et al., 2017).

A VR viewer may enjoy a zoomable gigapixel experience thanks to a combination of pan-tilt-superzoom and 360-degree cameras (Koskinen et al., 2018). “Haptic eyes,” for example, allow the user to feel what the camera sees (Tsetserukou, 2011), or “assisted eyes,” which boost the user’s cognitive skills by automatically detecting and correlating presently visible things with previously recorded information.

Extending the visible light spectrum or hearing sub- or supersonic noises is made possible by spectral extensions. AR glasses may include sensors and cameras of this kind. It is possible to extend the range of human senses by using near-infrared (IR) and near ultraviolet (UV) light cameras.

They’re also incredibly affordable. Long-wave infrared (thermal) cameras are becoming more compact and low-cost, opening up a wide range of new possibilities, such as the capacity to see in complete darkness with no external lighting. These sensors might potentially be used in a wide range of security and safety applications, such as in automobiles, workplaces, and residences.

An example of enhanced hearing is “hearables,” or smart headphones that increase the user’s ability to hear. In addition to preventing hearing loss and enhancing hearing in loud surroundings, these “wearables for the ear” may also lead to enhanced hearing (McGreal, 2018). Using them may assist to reduce background noise, enhance auditory perception, and even transpose sound frequencies so that they are easier to hear (Kirchberger and Russo, 2016).

Smart hearing technology may assist improve spatial awareness or narrow down on a particular sound source. It is also possible to create a customised sound environment using a combination of real-world noises and simulated ones (Garcia-Espinosa et al., 2015).

It is possible that the earpiece might include additional sensors for measuring physiological signals due to the near proximity of the blood vessels therein. In terms of health and sports-related applications, for example, this increases its usefulness even more (Da He et al., 2015).

Scents may be measured or created in order to enhance a person’s sense of smell. Scents that are invisible to the human olfactory system may now be measured using cutting-edge technology, enhancing the capacity to “smell” harmful compounds (Wilson and Baietto, 2009).

AI algorithms in combination with smell-measuring technology may improve odor detection accuracy beyond human sensory thresholds (Müller et al., 2019). Artificial scents may be used to enhance the human sense of smell (Nakamoto, 2016).

There are several ways to enhance the sense of taste. It’s not difficult to create sensors that can distinguish between different flavors, such as sweet, savory, bitter, and sour. However, the manufacture of taste sensations has shown to be a challenge since it is tightly linked to the sense of smell and is also a personal experience that is difficult to replicate.

There have been several attempts to use electric actuators to activate the tongue’s taste buds, but the idea has not garnered much traction yet (Ranasinghe and Do, 2017).

It’s important to note that in most cases, olfactory signals are employed to create the appearance of taste in augmented reality. Sensory replacement or sensory prosthesis, in which information from one sense may be mediated via a second sense, is also possible with enhanced senses (Kristjánsson et al., 2016).

By comparing haptic and audible modes, this might be done to assist with movement and navigation in low-vision conditions (Kerdegari et al., 2016). The employment of a tactile helmet in addition to vision and hearing may enhance control (Bertram et al., 2013). More crucially, sensors’ capacity to function in adverse circumstances is critical in extreme situations, such as outer space, the depths of the ocean, or burning structures (Alfadhel et al., 2016).

There are other ways to build augmented senses, such as cameras for very low light or in the non-visible spectrum, or even large-scale sensor arrays, such as networks of remote sensors constantly broadcasting environmental information and global positioning systems for tracking the movement and positional information of objects.

Distributed sensor networks, such as smart traffic systems and location-specific information sources, may help us better understand the environment around us. There is no limit to how much augmented sensing can improve our senses, regardless of what sensors are utilized or how they are configured. It has the potential to enhance our senses beyond what we are now capable of naturally.

2. Augmented action

Motion augmentation was one of the early instances of enhancing human activity. Prosthetic limbs, for example, may restore some of the functions of a limb that has been amputated. Since recently, new digital technologies have made it possible to enhance action in ways that go beyond our inherent abilities. Exoskeletons, for example, allow disabled individuals to walk using robotic feet (Young and Ferris, 2017).

An exoskeleton is beneficial in a wide variety of jobs that have historically been performed by humans but cannot yet be completely automated because of the need for human intelligence (Gopura et al., 2016). Exoskeletons might be used in the physical handling of products, allowing individuals to handle larger things while reducing the stress on their lower backs.

Using the notion of an exoskeleton, virtual exoskeletons may be created in which a robot is put in a distant location and is controlled in synchronization with the user’s movements (Tachi, 2013).

A virtual exoskeleton may provide an extremely realistic experience if worn with virtual reality goggles that allow the user to see from the robot’s point of view. Using human-robot interaction to create a remote presence may be particularly effective in dangerous environments where having a human operator on-site would be risky. Use examples include manufacturing, nuclear power plants, space and sea assembly, and search and rescue. (Kim et al., 2015).

It is also feasible to supplement human activities in VR or machinery control using additional input techniques such as touch, gestures, sight and voice. It is common in VR to use hand-held controllers, gloves, and other similar technologies in an effort to give virtual limbs the ability to move things of any size and weight (Lee et al., 2017).

From a distance, gestures may enhance an activity. Telekinetic skills may seem to be used to control machines from afar with a simple wave of the hand or other gesture (Lee and Lee, 2018). However, the “Midas Touch Problem” is typically triggered by gesture-based augmented mobility. An example of this is when a user makes a selection or confirmation by mistake. The employment of a virtual interface to mediate gestures is one possible solution to the issue (Liu et al., 2016).

The accuracy of voice commands for VR and robotic control has also improved because to advancements in automatic speech recognition (Ferracani et al., 2017). It’s ideal for human-computer voice interaction to be adaptable, which means that whatever the user’s skills or limits, the machine can accurately comprehend speech (Loch et al., 2018).

The use of gaze or head movement may also be used to control virtual surroundings (Khamis et al., 2018). In many cases of augmented actions, there is a need for a feedback loop in order for the user to get sensory input. Touch feedback systems may improve the accuracy of a user’s virtual limbs, force sensors can relay tactile information from a robot to the user, and artificial skin can restore a feeling of touch to a prosthetic hand (Antfolk et al., 2014). Sensory feedback should mimic the real-world functioning of human sensory modalities and emotions in order to effectively enable augmented action (Gavrilovska et al., 2017).

Successful action enhancement often requires the synthesis of environmental multisensory data and the adaptive use of human sensory systems (Rubio-Tamayo, 2017). The Internet of Things (IoT) is making our physical world smarter as more devices are linked to each other. In this manner, we may see and engage with our surroundings in new and natural ways, such as via gesture and verbal communication. Utilizing eye-tactile control or eye-gesture interaction are two options for interacting with the environment (Hepperle and Wölfel, 2017). (Kangas et al., 2014b).

Next, augmented action requires understanding the user’s cognitive state, for as by monitoring their brain activity. Neuroprosthetics, which may be used to operate remote robots and prosthetic fingers through a brain-machine interface, are the next step in augmented action technology (Hotson et al., 2016).

As a consequence of this trajectory of development, biotech-based hybrids that combine people with computers and highly evolved implant technologies may emerge (Warwick, 2015). This is still a far-off future, more akin to science fiction than current research.

3. Augmented cognition

For example, in augmented cognition, a user’s cognitive state may be sensed by physiological and neurophysiological monitoring of the user’s brain activity (Stanney et al., 2009a). Adapting computer input to a user’s current condition is possible via the use of augmented cognition, which incorporates information gleaned from the user. As a result, a closed system is created between the user and the interface technology (De Greef et al., 2007).

Research into augmented cognition has been an interdisciplinary endeavor from the outset, including cognitive psychology, neurology, computer science and engineering as well as HCI (Miller and Dorneich, 2006). Human cognition and information processing chain bottlenecks, limits (e.g., decision making or cognitive overload), and biases in human cognition need to be overcome and accommodated by a working augmented cognition that can be utilized to overcome and accommodate these issues effortlessly (De Greef et al., 2007).

When it comes to human information processing, Schmorrow et al. (2006) claim that enhanced cognition may help with the processing of memories related to senses (e.g., enhancing sensory perception), working memory (e.g., aiding in the simultaneous processing of data from several sources) (e.g., directing recall of previous information so that incoming information can be interpreted optimally).

Aside from this, managing a person’s cognitive load while using a computer is viewed as one of the most important tasks in augmenting cognition (De Greef et al., 2007).

Enhanced cognitive powers include a vastly expanded memory and a near-impossible amount of information. For example, a centralized network may be used to allow extended cognition (Smart, 2017). Monitoring one’s health, helping patients with minor brain injuries, and improving learning and memory are only some of the uses of augmented cognition (Reeder et al., 2017). (Dingler et al., 2016).

Human perception and cognition are already well-integrated, but techniques to manage them are still lacking in this sector (Schmidt, 2017). Real-world use cases need this in order to enhance or expand human intellect. It has been common practice in past research to employ one assessment methodology to test for cognitive or emotional state detection.

Monitoring, facilitating, and modulating human brain activity have been created in neuroscience (Shook and Giordano, 2016). To restore memory functions, for example, electrodes may be implanted in the brain (Song et al., 2015).

Other techniques of human-technology connection are more popular because they are less intrusive and raise less ethical questions. Electroencephalography, facial muscle activity, and sweat gland activity are just a few examples of what may be measured using wearable sensors. Using these metrics, one element of cognitive status, such as fatigue or disorientation, may be accurately detected (Nourbakhsh et al., 2017).

Human emotions may be studied to some extent as well (Mavridou et al., 2017). With no wearable sensors, human cognition may also be detected. Virtual reality (VR) learning may be aided by the use of infrared, ultrasonic, and biofeedback loops to monitor the brain’s activity (Argento et al., 2017).

The amount of cognitive effort can be evaluated by a voice recorder’s prosody, and the emotional state may be measured by a gaze tracker or camera’s eye movement behavior (DeLucia et al., 2014). Unimodal approaches outlined above are not adequate to develop a genuinely symbiotic link between human cognition and the computer. Multidimensional measurements are required instead (Schwarz and Fuchs, 2017).

As a result, multiple technologies are being utilized to look into various facets of cognitive and emotional functioning in humans. For example, it has previously been able to enhance task complexity depending on individual learning by integrating measurements of autonomous nervous system activity like heart rate and respiration rate with eye tracking (Fortin-Côté et al., 2018). (Nourbakhsh et al., 2013).

It is also recommended by Skinner et al. (2014) that the technologies employed to identify user status should be non-intrusive. It’s important, they say, to create multimodal methods for detecting human states in such a manner that the devices and analysis tools are optimal for use outside of laboratories in the present state of the art (e.g., wearable devices and developing toolkits to interpret the data on the go).

As a result, in real-world user scenarios, different sources of data must be combined and analyzed so that the system’s reaction works in real time and is context-sensitive (Fuchs and Schwarz, 2017). Cybernetics adaptation and related strategies may be explored to make the loop between the user and the computer smooth.

As a result, it’s imperative that we construct mathematical models to comprehend enhanced cognition. The processing of enormous volumes of sensor data may be made possible through the use of artificial intelligence. At some point in the near future, we want to create robots that can think like humans by applying what we’ve learned about human cognition.

Hybrid-augmented intelligence, according to Zheng et al. (2017) and Ren et al. (2017), might push human intellect to new heights. Instead of relying on big data sets or intensive data modeling and evolution, hybrid-augmented intelligence eliminates these previously necessary requirements.

Rather of relying just on machine learning, an intelligent data structuring approach integrating human cognition with machine learning might be used to boost the cognitive skills of computers. Complex dynamic decision-making systems may one day benefit from the use of this sort of computing, even if it is still in its early stages. Because they are able to replicate human thought processes, these systems have the potential to significantly enhance human knowledge and understanding.

 Conceptual Framework of Human Augmentation Work

For this conceptual framework to be useful, it must focus on how current technology may help a person better understand complicated situations, isolate the important variables, and find solutions. By looking at how people now attain their current levels of effectiveness, we hope to uncover areas where they may do better.

An individual’s whole impact on the world is based only on what he can transmit to the world through his restricted motor channels. When it comes to communicating with the outside world, he relies on information he receives via his limited senses; information he generates in his mind; and information he processes.

Processes involving self-generated data, unconsciously processed data and mediating received data as well as moderating his own conscious processing are all part of his overall processing style, which may be divided into two main categories.

The person does not utilize this information or processing to directly deal with the kind of difficult circumstance in which we wish to assist the person. Direct sensory examination and the application of fundamental cognitive talents aren’t always enough to provide an understanding or solution when dealing with situations this complicated, therefore he relies on his intrinsic abilities in an indirect manner.

The ability to drive a car, request a book from the library, call a committee meeting to discuss a tentative plan, or compose a letter on the typewriter is impossible for an aborigine who has all of our basic sensory-mental motor capabilities but lacks our background of indirect knowledge and procedure (Engelbart, 1988).

As a result of cultural development, we now have the tools necessary to organize and apply our fundamental talents in order to better understand and solve complicated problems. There are four primary types of augmentation means, which we refer to as augmentation methods:

Material manipulation, the manipulation of symbols, and the manipulation of physical objects are examples of artifacts.

Notions and symbols used by a person to represent his reality and to intentionally manipulate those concepts are both examples of language (“thinking”).

The techniques, processes, and strategies that a person uses to organize his or her goal-oriented (problem-solving) work are known as methodology.

In order for a person to use augmentation ways 1, 2, and 3 effectively, he or she must first undergo training.

A trained human person and his artifacts, language, and methods make up the system we are trying to enhance. It’s clear that the new system we’re envisioning will include computer-controlled information storage, handling, and display devices. Individuals’ capacity to make meaningful use of such technology as part of a system is the focus of this section’s conceptual framework (Engelbart, 1988).

Our society’s most successful people have already been “augmented.” A H-LAM/T system is used in contemporary culture to enhance the individual’s ability to sense, perform, and communicate with the environment around him, using the language, artifacts, and technique in which he is taught.

Furthermore, we believe that the H-LAM/T system should be examined as an interacting whole from a synthesis-oriented perspective in order to improve the efficacy of the person in contemporary society. The H-LAM/T system’s repertory hierarchy of process capabilities, which is based on the system’s essential elements, strengthens this holistic picture of the system.

The realization that any potential change in language, artifact, or methodology has importance only relative to its use within a process, and that a new process capability appearing anywhere within that hierarchy can make practical a new consideration of latent change possibilities in many other parts of the hierarchy—possibilities in either language, artifacts, or methodology brings out the strong interrelationship of these three augmentation means (Engelbart, 1988).

Details Of The H-LAM/T System

1. Synergism As The Source Of Intelligence

The current state of knowledge leads us to admit that human intellect seems to be elusively spread over a hierarchy of functional processes, a hierarchy whose basis extends into natural processes beyond the level of present definition. There seems to be a strong correlation between intelligence and organization.

Synergism seems to play a role in all of the social, biological, and physical phenomena that we see around us, and the higher the degree of organization, the more complex the phenomenological complexity that emerges. Synergy is a key component of human intelligence, which is thought to be formed from the signal-to-response properties of individual nerve cells (Engelbart, 1988).

2. Intelligence Amplification

Researchers first rejected the phrase “intelligent amplification” as a way to describe our goals in this investigation. For the most part, though, we defined them as an effort to better match human intellect with the challenges we face.

The phrase “intelligent design” has come to be used in a way that does not indicate an effort to enhance human intellect. Because the thing to be created will display greater intelligence than an unassisted human could, we believe that intelligence amplification is a good fit for our purpose (enhancing the human intellect).

Individual intelligence is amplified by the LAM/T augmentation methods in the H-LAM/T system, which has the resultant enhanced intelligence. We are utilizing the idea of synergistic structuring that is inherent in the natural growth of fundamental human capacities when we increase human intelligence.

In the development of our methods of augmentation, our civilization has constructed a synthetic extension of the biologically generated sensory-mental-motor framework on which it is based.. The evolution of “artificial intelligence” has been going on for millennia in a true sense.

3. Two-Domain System

The H-LAM/T system consists only of human beings and their objects. Ultimately, the system’s performance will be determined by the sum of its parts’ capabilities. Earlier, the system’s composite processes deconstruct into explicit-human and explicit-artifact processes, implying this result.

As a result, the H-LAM/T system has two distinct areas of activity: the human-represented area, where all explicitly human activities take place, and the artifact-represented area, where all explicitly artifact processes take place.

There must be an exchange of energy between the two domains in every composite process (much of it for information exchange purposes only). This two-domain notion is shown in Figure 2 and incorporates additional concepts that will be described later.

Figure. 2. Representation of the two active domains within the H-LAM/T System(Engelbart, 1988).

The term man-machine interface (MMI) has been used for some time to describe the border between the two worlds where energy is transferred. This relationship between people and objects has been there since humans first started utilizing artifacts and performing composite procedures hundreds of years ago.

Individuals and artifacts exchange energy with one other and with the outer environment. In order to facilitate this trade, there are typically additional procedures in place. However, the focus of our current investigation is on the system’s internal processes, which may and do play a considerable role in the system’s ability to grow the human’s understanding and pursue the human’s objectives (Engelbart, 1988).

 Evolution, Technology, and Human Enhancement

Aside from being amazing, the above-mentioned brain capabilities have remained relatively static for millennia, and despite ongoing evolution affecting the human body, we are anatomically, physiologically, and as information processors very similar to our early ancestors from a few hundred thousand years ago.

As a result of natural selection, an intelligent creature was born that can coexist alongside Homo sapiens in the same habitat. Despite the fact that our technology is considerably greater, we are still very much like that creature, even in the 21st century.

New technologies like exoskeletons, prosthetic limb devices controlled by the brain, and neuroprosthetic devices embedded in the brain are starting to generate technologically enhanced persons with skills that go beyond those supplied by evolution (Barfield, 2015).

The development of technological advancements to humans and the evolution of the human body brings up the fascinating issue that our biology and the technology incorporated into the body are progressing at separate rates. What this means is that our species’ future is in jeopardy, and it poses moral and ethical questions about how to speed up the evolutionary processes that eventually led to Homo sapiens.

When comparing the pace of biological evolution to the rate of technological advancement, take into account the ability to perceive. A key component of the visual sense is the light-sensitive protein opsin, which evolved about 700 million years ago (Barfield, 2019).

The first eye fossils were discovered in the lower Cambrian era, about a hundred million years later (about 540 million years ago). Even while creatures may have felt light prior to the Cambrian explosion, it isn’t known whether they used it for quick movement or navigation by sight. Comparing the evolution of “human-made” technology to the development of the human visual system (Barfield, 2019).

As soon as humans invented the first “vision aid,” the pace of technological innovation skyrocketed, compared to biological evolution. Benjamin Franklin produced bifocal spectacles in the mid 1780s, just 500 years after SalvinoD’Armate invented wearing eyeglasses in 1284.

In the past ten to fifteen years, the development of technology to augment or even replace the human visual system has greatly increased. End-stage macular degeneration patients may benefit from a miniaturized telescope being developed by eye surgeons at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

In the future, medically necessary devices could have a completely different use, such as enhancing the visual systems of people who are normally blind to enable them to detect electromagnetic energy outside the range of their evolutionary adopted eyes, to use telephoto lenses to zoom in or out on scenes, to add data from the cloud to their environment, or to wirelessly connect the visual sense of one person to another’s (Barfield, 2015).

It is possible to infer that evolution uses positive feedback in adapting the human body to its environment in the sense that the more competent ways that arise from one stage of evolutionary advancement are the drive for creating the following step. In other words, the process of evolution is based on the principle of modification by descent, which permits nature to gradually introduce minute changes to an existing form over a long period of time.

The size of the exponent characterizing growth is a crucial consideration for both biological and technological progress (or the improvement in the organism or technology). There is a big difference in the exponents for biological and technological development, which means that the timelines for both are quite different. As we continue to integrate technology into our bodies, we may one day merge and become technology itself. This distinction has important implications for our technological future.

In certain respects, I agree with the assertion that humans have always been a human-technological mix. As an example, the invention of the first tools enabled human mind to be extended outside the body in order to control a tool for a specific purpose.

As a consequence, people will be considered as technical beings rather than biological beings. Furthermore, given the pace at which technology and in particular artificial intelligence is growing, humans may be “left behind” as the most intellectual species on the earth once a technological Singularity is achieved in which artificial intelligence is smarter than humans (Barfield, 2015).

A common reaction to the exponential rise of technology, especially computer technology, is to claim that the answer is to upgrade ourselves with technology and farther into the future to eventually become that technology ourselves.

That is why this article discusses the latest brain-enhancing technology and the “standard model” of human technology use, and how humans will eventually become so technologically advanced (including having technology implanted within their bodies) that we will be able to use humans as an example of technology, as the researcher put it (Barfield, 2019).

Applications and Use Cases of human augmentation in Industry

1. Biomedical solutions

Bioprinting

Bioprinting is unquestionably one of the most eye-catching innovations in science and technology.. Human organs and tissues may now be created in the laboratory by companies like TissueLabs. The role of a research and development engineer is an important one for a business of this kind.

Ageing Tech

This is both a really difficult and a tremendously exciting task. Candidates have a wide range of possibilities for both admission and advancement. Companies such as Altos and Calico should be on your radar to see how they will impact the future.

Prosthetics

“Naked Prosthetics” has already shown us what they’re capable of, but there are many others in the human enhancement business that are looking for new ideas. Technology like ReWalk Robotics is one such example of how it promises to fundamentally improve the lives of persons with some type of impairment.

2. Wearable Devices

It is still necessary to develop human augmentation architectures and models that take individual contributions into account as part of a holistic approach to real-world applications that may be further exploited. As a further step, they are suggesting a new paradigm for wearable technology: a rise in human sensitivities, behavior, and awareness. It’s based on the premise that the gadget itself, rather than a third-party interface, enhances human talents. The interaction would be as close to human activity as feasible, highlighting the need of watching human activities as feedback for the way of increasing (Raisamo et al., 2019).

• The environment, objects, and events may all be picked up through sensing technology. Pattern recognition, various computer vision techniques, sound sensors, spatial, motion, and thermal sensors, multispectral cameras, and touch, gustatory, and olfactory sensors are all included in this category.
• Only lightweight mixed-reality multimodal goggles, trans-modal information transfer, and functional accessories can make use of multisensory gadgets to aid treatment, memory, and perception. It employs a wide range of senses, including sight, hearing, touch, gustation, and olfaction, to mediate greater sensing and input on augmented behavior.
• Human activity tracking is the basis for the adaptive gadgets. Speech recognition, eye-tracking, and force and touch data are all examples of inputs that may be used to identify human activities. Human behavior is modeled on a higher level based on this basic level of knowledge.
• In order to alter the surroundings, actuation technology is employed, which includes various types of visual displays, haptical actuators, audio devices and scents. Forces and individual stances may also affect a scene’s feeling of equilibrium in a dynamic situation.
• Artificial intelligence and ubiquitous digital infrastructure may make the Internet, AI, and networked information systems more accessible. These custom AI plugins provide for a wide variety of actions that users cannot or do not desire to do autonomously, allowing for the construction of bespoke AI plugins.

Exoskeletons

Exoskeletons are already being used by construction workers to boost productivity and generate spectacular outcomes. ABI Research estimates that this industry will grow to $1.9 billion by the year 2025.

Smart Glasses

The closest thing to seeing directly into the digital world is a pair of smart glasses. These gadgets are storing a lot of information so that we may more easily explore the internet. Smart glasses-optimized applications are already available from companies like Netflix and AccuWeather, opening the door to additional developers who can set the pace for this emerging field of augmentation.

3. Translation devices

It’s never been easier to become a multilingual chameleon at a moment’s notice. One of the most prominent companies in the field of human enhancement, Timekettle has won several accolades for its pocket translators. When developing a product for this market, the business put an emphasis on the end user’s experience. In the field of product design, there are several chances for individuals that have expertise in this area, such as design thinking.

4. Our beloved gadgets

Smartphones and smartwatches have already become an integral part of our daily lives, with many of us using them as if they were essential organs. It opens the market to new ideas and experience in a wide range of fields, from design to development, and improves our ability to communicate.

Brain-computer interfaces

The prospect of mind control through a brain-computer interface (BCI) has sparked mass frenzy. A technology that can increase the brain’s potential, enabling an unmediated interface between humans and machines, as well as the possibility of unlocking the neuron’s potential, is what we’re talking about here. This technology is being tackled by a variety of firms; some, like Kernel and NextMind, don’t need surgical implantation while others, like Neuralink, do.

Artificial Intelligence

Our everyday lives are already enriched by artificial intelligence. A wide range of businesses, including those in the financial, employment, entertainment, energy, and even food industries, have made investments in this technology. A “supercomputer” significantly enhances our abilities as human beings, it is clear.

DeepMind, bought by Google in 2014, is one of the most promising firms in the market for human enhancement. It has shown outstanding accomplishments with the creation of its artificial intelligence, termed Alphafold.

The goal of this artificial intelligence is to solve a 50-year-old mystery by predicting the form of a structured protein. A finding like this might lead to improved human health as a result of better illness prevention and treatment, as well as the development of new treatments.

5. From Human to Business Augmentation

The concepts of human augmentation technologies are inextricably linked to the economic model, no matter how we try to avoid it. To get better outcomes, businesses are using this attitude. Increasing a company’s resources and allowing it to grow more easily and cost-effectively may both be accomplished via the technique of outsourcing.

Staff Augmentation

84 percent of organizations surveyed by Deloitte said standardization and process efficiency were the primary reasons they chose to outsource, followed by the low cost (84 percent). According to the results of the poll, one to three years from now, a digital revolution and an increase in the culture of innovation are expected.

Talents from around the globe

One of the advantages of outsourcing in these situations is the ability to hunt for new talent. Finding that missing piece in your team is easier and may arrive from across the globe with the support of partners that are able to provide effective recruiting solutions.

Scalability

It is a given that anybody seeking for a workforce solutions partner would want scalability on their side as well. All of these traits make business augmentation resemble a human enhancement in appearance and function. Because of this, the market is beginning to make this policy of improvement a transverse practice, starting with product policy, and then moving on to recruiting and business growth policies.

6. The Augmented businessperson

Fears about computers and robots taking over our work and possibly our life are on the increase due to the rapid advancement of our technical capabilities. We are far more likely to witness a future in which technology serves as a foundation for all of our activities. In the workplace of the future, this will be most apparent.

Research and development of human-enhancement technology, such as enhanced senses, cognitive ability, and improved health, is the focus of the “transhumanism” movement. Enhancement technologies have the potential to have a substantial impact on the future of work in the coming decade.

The widespread usage of human enhancement might alter the capacity of a person to execute activities or to operate under more harsh settings. In addition, human augmentation might increase the efficiency of everyday tasks.

Today, we utilize cell phones as virtual assistants to help us manage our job processes. In the future, what will this augmentation look like? AI is expected to play a significant role in the workplace, allowing us to train more efficiently, acquire and exchange information more quickly, and interact with fast-developing systems.

Sifting through large volumes of data and doing mathematical computations at super speed will be possible in the future, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Brain implants, visual linkages and even projected emotions will make it easier for businessmen to interact. We wouldn’t necessarily become less human if we partnered with modern computer systems and used a broad spectrum of technical and robotic aids.

Experimentation and originality are necessary for new ideas to take root. Considerably while humans are excellent at these tasks, they might be even better if we had access to AI or other sophisticated technologies. Writing, making music, or producing art might benefit from the application of augmentation.

Ethical Problems Caused By Human Augmentation Technology

1. Social inequality

Even if society generally agrees that improving human capabilities is a worthwhile objective, putting that goal into practice nevertheless poses a number of challenges. When human augmentation technology is extensively used in certain areas but not in others,

it may represent a significant danger to the equality of human beings from various regions. Second, societal resources are restricted and rare to meet human development’s requirements therefore not everyone can profit from human augmentation technology. It’s possible that in the future, while competing against those who haven’t been augmented, individuals using human augmentation technologies will stand out from the crowd.

They are constantly at a disadvantage when compared to individuals who have been using human enhancement technologies in sports events or in any other sector. To put it another way, it undermines the system of fair competition by making it harder for those who aren’t augmented to compete on an equal footing, while also placing undue strain on those who are. In fact, exoskeleton-wearing people would be much more competitive than their human counterparts.

These exoskeletons are being used by employees in the automotive manufacturing business in Europe to help them do their jobs more efficiently. Controversy has arisen as a result of the equal treatment of working conditions and remuneration. Whether exoskeleton users should be allowed to work the same number of hours as they did before is still up in the air.

Employers believe that a longer work week is necessary to make up for the lower level of labor production the exoskeletons enable their workers to produce compared to their previous levels. Exoskeleton users, on the other hand, believe that they are entitled to greater compensation than non-users of the technology because of their higher levels of productivity.

Because they believe they are more susceptible to workplace injuries without the use of human enhancement technology, non-exoskeleton users believe the opposite (Ippolito et al., 2020). Even more distressing is the fact that genetic augmentation is ethically questionable, yet technically possible.

The purpose of genetic enhancement is to improve certain, predetermined characteristics or abilities. Humans born from embryos that have had particular gene segments altered may have desirable features. Genetic enhancement may also be used to boost human intellect by increasing brain use and to increase physical strength by breaking physiological boundaries.

The divide between intellectually enhanced individuals and their non-enhanced counterparts is much too clear, despite the fact that the technology of intellectual augmentation is still in its infancy. The most recent findings on the role of genes in human intelligence demonstrate that genetic augmentation of intellect is possible, and that the change may boost human intelligence by at least 10%. (Munsie and Gyngell, 2018). In the long run, it would lead to uneven competition in the workplace or the training room.

2. Security

This technology has the potential to reduce the frequency of genetic disorders in the population by enhancing human immunity or by eliminating certain genetic diseases, which makes it a useful tool in human enhancement. Now that CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing is widely used, it has shown to be a very accurate, effective, and quick method of DNA change.

It was in 2015 when the first-ever human embryo experiment using CRISPR-Cas9, which revealed the effective excision of a piece of the globin gene, was carried out. As soon as the information was made public, ethical disagreements arose. A child born from an embryo with disease-eliminating gene segments may be healthy as long as they are not implanted in the mother, although the safety of doing so remains a mystery.

Jiankui He, a Chinese researcher, directly altered the gene segment CCR5 on human embryos, which were then implanted and given birth to, to increase the children’s ability to fight HIV. The controversy surrounding genetic manipulation rushed to a climax.

In this case, he reduced the risk of HIV infection by altering the allele of the CCR5 gene that is associated with HIV resistance or infection progression. Nevertheless, the American National Institutes of Health’s Guiding Principles for Ethical Research claim his research seriously violated most of the ethical norms.

In addition to the fact that the technique used in the experiment had matured and thus no longer required testing at this level, He’s operation showed little social and clinical value because it lacked adequate informed consent and independent review.

Critics argue that He’s initiative is unethical and scientifically indefensible since it does not adequately assess the risk-benefit ratio or oversee a third party, and it does not allow the newborn infants to objectively pick an intact or modified immune system.

We’ll have to ponder for a long time whether or not the baby has the right to choose whether or not to have his or her features enhanced. As a result of this permanent alteration, the kid may have a competitive edge, but he or she may also be limited in their future career options and freedoms.

Dissatisfaction with He is a representative of the public’s anxieties regarding gene editing, a potentially good human enhancement technology. In addition to the problems expressed, the convoluted explanation of security guarantee of gene alteration in human embryos that would be utilized to generate pregnancies contributes to the public’s worries.

A variety of experiments using GGE have been published, but each one could shed light on the effectiveness of genome editing while also revealing its technical issues and safety implications for upcoming clinical GGE in human embryos.

These problems include: Mosaicism, in which some embryonic cells have different DNA from the others; Off-target effects, in which some embryonic cells are altered in ways that are not intended; and finally, safety implications for GGE in human embryos. An organism would be adversely affected by all of the aforementioned occurrences (Li, 2021).

3. Social control

In the same way that many forms of technology enhance human sensations and even genetic performance, human augmentation technology does the same. However, it is possible to turn it into an anti-social weapon. The potential for gene modification technology to be utilized as a weapon against certain segments of society is one of the most exciting aspects of this emerging field of human enhancement.

Because of the wide range of genetic compositions seen in various races, critics have pointed out that it is technologically conceivable to target certain populations with destructive gene weapons. The recombination of deoxyribonucleic acid with the aid of genetic engineering is the basis of gene weapons. Extremists are drawn to gene weapons because of their high lethal potential and inexpensive cost. It is now feasible to carry out targeted genocide thanks to genetic modification technologies.

This might be a problem if technology continues to advance, since people will get more used to devices that deliver the service. Those who want to manipulate public opinion might utilize human sensory augmentation technology equipment, such as VR lenses or even more aggressive brain-computer interfaces, that create an immersive information-receiving environment as propaganda weapons. VR glasses may transport a person into a fictitious but stunning story-telling theater, where they will be very receptive to any information that comes their way, regardless of its veracity (Li, 2021).

4. Privacy

Human enhancement technologies, such as virtual reality glasses, augmented reality lenses, exoskeletons, and smart watches, will be the preferred choice for modern individuals seeking efficiency in their job and daily lives. For many individuals, wearable gadgets are a great fit for their quest of efficiency because of the apparent benefits. People adapt fast to affordable wearable gadgets since they are readily accessible.

VR glasses allow individuals to purchase from the comfort of their own homes, while augmented reality lenses allow people to have virtual meetings at any location and smart watches can detect heartbeats and monitor vital functions.

Human enhancement technology, as previously indicated, may be used for social manipulation. Similarly, wearable gadgets may also be used to gather private information. Users may expect a seamless and complete experience from wearable gadgets that gather personal information to tailor the algorithm for each unique user.

The optimization procedure necessitates the technological recording of user traces, including personal data and secret information. Wearable gadgets, which have grown commonplace in our daily lives, are secretly tracking and transmitting our precise whereabouts, movement tracks, and even conversation records with other individuals to servers through sensors and receivers.

As big data, artificial intelligence, and 5G technologies advance, businesses will be able to use the data they gather for targeted advertising and direct marketing by having cloud servers evaluate it in real time (Li, 2021).

5. Autonomy and side effects

There is a widespread danger to one’s autonomy that stems from sensory overload, in which information is no longer processed effectively (Kristjánsson et al, 2016).

For example, patients with neurodegenerative disorders who use technology may have worries about patient autonomy and accountability in the event of an accident. Having the potential to share a sensory experience, such as one’s visual field, is a real danger to one’s sense of self-determination.

Completion of knowledge raises some of the most difficult ethical questions. As a result of their adverse effects, neuro technological implants and pharmaceutical stimulants pose a significant risk to users and society alike (Forlini et al., 2013).

6. Accessibility

When technologies that go beyond human capabilities are being created, universal access becomes a major issue. The most common motivation for incorporating new technology is cost. Special user groups, such as the deaf or the elderly, may have difficulty using new technology (Obrenovic et al., 2007). In general, augmented senses have a good influence on those who require sensory aid.

That being said, the people who would most benefit from the enhanced senses are somewhat different. When young millennials may suffer from, for example, hearing impairments yet are able to utilize technology gadgets and assistance flawlessly, other groups, such as the elderly who are hearing challenged, may have difficulties even while using basic smartphone apps. For the elderly, the promise of modern technology may easily create a tension between a real need and the mix of independence, dignity, and privacy that they want (Fugger et al., 2007).

Similar issues to those raised by enhanced perception might arise when augmenting action. Again, the wide range of individuals who benefit the most from the technology may be a huge problem for the designers.

Universal access is the most important social concern in the realm of augmented technologies, according to the researchers. Excluding some groups from equivalent advantages while adopting enhancement technology to augment one’s talents, for example, may put society’s equity at risk (Bostrom and Roach, 2008).

7. Unpredictable future

New technology may have economic ramifications, to name just a few (Nica, 2016). A substantial number of people might become unemployed as a result of advances in artificial intelligence, augmented action, and sensing. It’s hardly unexpected that low-skilled employees are already scared about their futures as a result of this influence (McClure, 2018). We may conclude that technology can widen the gap between those who have and those who don’t have a steady job (Nica, 2016).

On the other side, humanity has gone through numerous disruptive technologies such as steam engines, electricity, industrialisation, tractors, vehicles, atomic power and automation, and we are today better off than ever (Rosling et al. 2018). Digital divide and other associated concerns are a little more difficult to understand.

When new technologies are used in business or in our personal life, we should be aware of the possible consequences. The ethics of augmented action are strongly linked to the design of the user interface. Using enhanced motoric movement and activity, the rules for how to behave in shared, virtual, or augmented worlds are in the core of effective ethical application in this discipline.

Is there anything that the users can do? How do they exert control over their environment? Are they, for example, capable of committing a violent act? Humanity is about to make a great leap ahead thanks to enhanced intellect (Saniotis et al., 2014). Human cognition and the activities of the brain, as well as artificial neural networks imitating and aiding cognition, are not completely understood in the context of this article.

As a result, AI techniques have their limits, and it might be difficult to comprehend why an AI approach generates a specific prediction when a significant quantity of data is being analyzed. These limitations must be taken seriously if our capacity to foresee the impact that enhanced cognition may have on people and society would be compromised.

Overall, it seems that governmental laws and regulations are necessary in this industry. Human enhancement’s long-term impacts on future generations remain a mystery in the fields of bioengineering and genetic modification, among other related fields (Giubilini and Sanyal, 2015). As Firmino and Duarte (2010) point out, digitalization will significantly alter the way people live and work in cities.

Solutions to Mitigate The Existing Ethical Problems

International rules, regulations, and legislation assuring privacy, safety, equality, and improved user interface design may be used to address most of the ethical concerns highlighted by human-technology interaction. Additionally, a more inclusive HCI design approach may provide some answers (Abascal and Azevedo, 2007). It’s becoming more difficult to regulate human augmentation technology because of a lack of rules and regulations that are keeping pace with the technology’s growth.

It’s time to accelerate technological advancement while also accurately anticipating the social, political, economic, and ethical ramifications it may have. By applying the following procedures, it is likely that the majority of ethical concerns presented by human-technology interaction will be resolved: There must be a strong legal and monitoring framework in place to ensure that people are not exploited by human augmentation technology and to establish an international enforcement agency.

The government should guarantee that the public has the right to know about advancements in technology and allow them to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of such advancements. A second point is that the government must provide adequate rights protection for minors and people with intellectual disabilities in order to safeguard their legitimate interests and rights (Li, 2021).

Last but not least, advanced technology should be monitored and regulated by governmental authorities to avoid danger. Innovating technologies and experiments are subject to impartial moral scrutiny.

The goal of ethical standards is to prevent people from being exploited. It’s not only a way to get things done; it’s also a way to show the highest respect for others. To perform an ethical review, a third-party institution must examine and supervise biomedical research projects involving human subjects in accordance with ethical standards and principles established by that third-party organization. Restraint and protection are the primary goals of ethical review.

To ensure that medical research is conducted in accordance with ethical and legal standards, researchers are restricted in their actions. The medical technology of researchers can only solve the issue of what it can do, whereas ethics can address the problem of what should be done, in other words.

In order to guarantee that the “enhanced bottom-line concept” is carefully adhered to in the study and development of human enhanced technology, it is important to build and strengthen a worldwide ethical review and regulatory agency.

In particular, in the biomedical field, self-regulation should be enforced and stakeholders should set norms and criteria for research and development of human enhancement technology and enhancing medication / surgical method.

It is up to biomedical experts to keep tabs on the current and future trends in human augmentation technology, even in the absence of a formal regulatory framework or an exhaustive review system.

The guidelines and proposals for self-regulation put forth by professional organizations or state departments may not have the force of law, but they do have the effect of deterring people from breaking established professional standards by threatening reprimand or worse.

Creating a more equitable distribution of wealth: The promotion of innovative technologies is hindered by uneven regional growth. To ensure that the majority of the world’s population has equitable access to new technology, efforts should be made, including the formation of charities to distribute new technology globally, the strategic reduction of the cost of technology utilization, and the promotion of acceptance toward new technology.

Medical human enhancement technologies, such as the COVID-19 vaccination, are being dispersed unevenly over the globe. Most vaccinations are in the hands of rich countries, but only a small number are in the hands of comparatively less developed countries. The goal of the COVAX Project is to ensure that all children have access to vaccines. Similar allocation systems must be promoted and assured to work effectively (Li, 2021).

Development Trends Of Human Augmentation Technology

By augmenting human potential, it might either improve or deteriorate society depending on the context in which it occurs. Human augmentation is likely to take hold in the near future in a form that meets our everyday demands. Due to their accessibility and ease of use in everyday life, wearable gadgets would be the most popular of all emerging technologies. Sensors in wearable gadgets allow humans to experience distinct sensations on touch, taste, and smell.

In addition, when ubiquitous computing becomes a reality and is made available through wearable devices, humans will be able to take advantage of far superior personal computing services.

Exoskeletons are playing a prominent role among all wearable gadgets because of their wide range of applications in business, the military, and everyday life.

Exoskeletons may not only assist the handicapped regain movement, but they can also diminish the impact of large burdens on specific vocations and so lower the risk of damage to ensure human rights.

It is envisaged that exoskeletons would be made of lightweight materials with minimal power consumption, and they will be worn by people in conjunction with other wearable gadgets to provide the best possible experience. COVID-19, on the other hand, will see a huge increase in the amount of time and resources devoted to bioengineering research.

Human augmentation technology may grow in the near future on a relatively free road with just market regulation and little monitoring, as people call for greater personal rights and freedoms in their use of technology.

To increase people’s quality of life and enjoyment, the government should employ acceptable improvement technologies, as long as these approaches do not adversely impact or hurt other people (Li, 2021).

As long as the chosen enhancement technology does not harm other people or social development, people are free to choose their own enhancement technology. Tolerance for others’ choices and respect for their autonomy are two important values that people should hold in high regard.

However, just because the market regulates human augmentation technologies, it doesn’t absolve the government of any duty or obligation in this area. The opposite is also true: human enhancement may be harmful in some way.

Internal human enhancement may be achieved by taking drugs that improve recognition level in addition to gene alteration. Doctors and pharmacists are contributing to an increase in the misuse of psychotropic drugs that improve cognitive function by limiting the number of rules or review procedures that apply to prescription recognition-enhancing medications.

The most commonly prescribed drugs to improve cognitive function include Ritalin, Modafinil, and Adderall. The percentage of North American interviewees who have ever taken at least one of the listed medications has increased from 19 percent in 2015 to 30 percent in 2017.

In Europe, there was a greater percentage of the aforementioned drugs, as well as an annual increase in the number. An assumption can be made that more and more people, especially young students, are going to be using these medications in the future because of this.

Those who have experienced the positive effects of these brain-boosting drugs are more likely to continue using them. Biochemical responses in the brain might result from medicinal cognitive enhancement. Complications are possible for long-term users, and the safety of drugs for children and adolescents is particularly important (Li, 2021).

Future human abilities

Some human enhancement technologies, according to a recent survey by Whitman(2018), fall into five categories: 1) therapeutic use to restore ability; 2) prevention when there is a known risk or relevant family history; 3) prevention when neither risk nor family history are apparent; 4) enhancement beyond one’s normal ability; and 5) enhancement far beyond normal.

According to the survey findings, 95 percent of respondents approved the use of physical restorative applications The use of technological assistance for people who have deteriorated senses due to aging or sickness would be a key support mechanism to ensure that their capacity to operate in society is not limited.

Increasingly, the populations of the United States, Japan, and China are seeing rapid demographic changes. Age-related disability rates are rising, and novel approaches to managing and combating these conditions are urgently required9. If successful, suggested human enhancements might raise the retirement age and improve the quality of life for those who use them.

It’s important to remember that although technology may help with certain issues, individuals must also take responsibility for their own health and well-being by eating correctly, exercising, and getting enough sleep.

User experience and societal acceptability should be carefully examined when building augmentation technology to restore capabilities, since they impact people’s desire to use the technology. Users want their augmentations to feel natural and not like instruments in their hands. Neither the user nor spectators should be required to put up with any discomfort or conduct any strange acts as a result of the technology (Akkil et al., 2016).

High-tech aids are typically rejected by older people who don’t want to draw attention to their impairment, even if they are very effective (Yusif et al., 2016). When building unobtrusive augmentation technology, it is important to keep in mind the stigma attached to assistive devices. Sensing technology advancements in the last several years have made it feasible to conceal sensors in everyday objects like clothing, eyeglasses, and jewelry. Adoption and use of technical tools might be hampered by psychological reasons as well.

There is a strong correlation between a person’s level of confidence in using the technology and the likelihood that they will continue to use it (Tuazon et al., 2018).

Even the most basic of assistive devices, such as a wheelchair, may come to seem like an extension of the user. To put it another way, the technology has a price. When it comes to both financial and non-financial considerations, a technology must outweigh its disadvantages. However, even while individuals are eager to experiment with new technology, this does not ensure its long-term adoption (Clawson et al., 2015).

6.0  Conclusion

Since the dawn of time, human beings have sought to enhance their natural abilities. Human evolution and what it means to be human have been molded by this urge to evolve. However, when human people take control of their own destiny, slow natural development may be overshadowed by human-induced innovation.

More than ever, our species has the ability to improve and modify itself. Numerous advances in science may be traced back to the desire to improve one’s physical and mental capabilities. Gene therapy, exoskeleton attachments, brain-computer interfaces, and having access to the entire global repository of knowledge at one’s fingertips are just a few of the many technologies that have the potential to enhance and alter our abilities in the near future.

It will take time for some of these emerging technologies to mature. However, there are already a number of technologies that can be used to enhance human capabilities. There are several technologies that may be used right now to enhance critical human abilities. They are normally utilized independently, with little or no fusion.

According to this study, designing an intelligent wearable technology is the next essential step in human advancement. There is now a unified framework in place that provides the foundation for the expanding citizenry of the future.

As a result, life itself would undergo radical change. However, in order to ensure data security and equal access to new technologies, laws and international standards and guidelines are necessary for the legal issues associated with these advances.

As well as enhancing the well-being and quality of life of individuals, advanced technologies should contribute positively to the environment and cultural heritage as a whole.

Aside from individual freedom, the ethics of human augmentation technology must also consider the impact on others and society at large. Human-enhanced technology must be analyzed to determine whether the state or government should participate in or restrict its development. The development of human augmentation technology should not be seen as an extreme step, but rather we should be more careful and responsible in order to predict the repercussions and actively prepare for the reaction.