The current level of technology development allows the implementation of scientific ideas that until recently seemed fantastic, related to the distant future. Thanks to scientific progress, humanity has come closer to translating the ideas of transhumanism into life. Scientists from universities participating in Project 5-100 are also working on the creation of neurointerfaces to compensate for physical disabilities and expand human capabilities.
The path to health and immortality
Since ancient times, people have dreamed of expanding the boundaries of their capabilities and achieving immortality. This was the goal of the adherents of Chinese Taoism, European alchemists and other scientists and mystics. Since the 1980s, their searches have been continued by transhumanists (from Latin trans - through and homo - human). They argue that it is science that can compensate for physical disabilities and disabilities, overcome aging and death.
Most transhumanists support the idea of "cyborgization" - the creation of artificial human organs and replacing most of the body with devices that can be repaired and replaced in case of breakdown. The image of a "man-machine" has traditionally existed in mythology and fairy tales, but the term "cyborg" itself appeared only in 1960 when developing the concept of expanding human capabilities for survival outside the Earth.
Until 20 years ago, science fiction placed cyborgs (machine-human hybrids) in an uncertain future. However, in July this year, a member of the Royal Society of London, James Lovelock, released a book in which he argues that "the era of humans on this planet may soon be over."
This is due to a significant breakthrough made by scientists in the field of creating so-called neurointerfaces. We are talking about data exchange systems based on computer programs that allow connecting cyber limbs, artificial eyes and even those sense organs that have no analogues in nature to the brain of humans and animals.
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Patient under control
According to the entrepreneur Elon Musk, modern people have already become cyborgs: the symbiosis of man and machine began, because people perceive their smartphones - with their technical capabilities and huge memory - as an extension of themselves.
A smartphone with a special program based on a neural network can become an innovative tool for helping patients with Parkinson's disease, a serious brain disease.
Scientists of the St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI" have developed a unique method for remote monitoring of patients' condition. The program automatically fills in patient diaries and analyzes a complex picture of the condition for any period before an appointment with a doctor.
The development can serve as an alternative to the daily supervision of a doctor and significantly reduces the risk of a patient's misjudgment of his condition.
“Data is taken from the device in the background, six built-in sensors allow tracking the patient's activity, tremor, dyskinesia and other symptoms that are indicative for assessing the state,” said Yulia Shichkina, professor of the Department of Computer Science at ETU LETI.
Bionic prostheses
In the near future, scientists can make the solution to the problem of disability inexpensive and accessible to all patients.
Students of the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) have created a bionic prosthetic foot and lower leg, which allows them to achieve more natural mobility than analogues.
“We are now finishing the development of a prototype. The main details and points are modeled, worked out. We plan to bring the cost of our active foot closer to the cost of a good passive foot (among analogs),”said the project leader, a student of the FEFU School of Natural Sciences, Daniil Serbinovich.
Researchers have developed their own software for taking telemetry from sensors located on the leg of a healthy person. Using the data obtained, they trained a neural network model to predict the correct movement of the foot.
Smart clothes
According to the theory popular among futurologists, the natural evolution of man has reached its limit, and now artificial evolution must begin, controlled by people themselves. In the future, Homo sapiens will be replaced by a more perfect human species, which will get rid of most of the bodily limitations.
The “myo-interface” of scientists from the National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” converts electrical activity of muscles into signals and allows remote control of technical devices (from a smartphone to a “smart home” system), as well as create smart clothes for athletes that read various indicators.
The project won the Sino-Russian Industrial Innovation Award "Innovation Awards".
“The advantage of our development, in comparison with analogs, lies in the high accuracy and low latency of device recognition, as well as in the ability to use a fairly wide range of different recognition algorithms. We have just finished creating a working prototype,”said Bulat Aitbaev, a master's student at the Higher Engineering School of NRNU MEPhI.
Man in a new sense of the word
The "posthuman" of the future will no longer be a man in the usual sense of the word, and people themselves, from the point of view of biology, may lose a single species identity, scientists say. Analysis of new forms of integration of corporeality and technology helps to expand, among other things, the modern philosophical view of man.
“Even if we are not yet cyborgs in the literal sense of the word, that is, we do not have artificial organs, in fact in our daily social activities we have long become biorobots, because we obey a set of algorithms and follow programs in our far from natural life. From navigation and communication in social networks to the war of drones - today everything is subordinated not to someone's will, but to continuously learning artificial intelligence,”said Igor Chubarov, head of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities at Tyumen State University (Tyumen State University).
Any person, even the creator of artificial neural networks, cannot fully understand their work, but he can study the behavior of the machines subordinate to them and their impact on humans and society from the point of view of sociology and anthropology.
“In the interdisciplinary 'transhumanistic' research initiated at Tyumen State University, we study the reverse impact of software, modern media and machines on humans and society, our identities and communication methods in a wide socio-cultural and historical context,” said Igor Chubarov.
According to him, this will help avoid the negative and uncontrollable impact of technology on our lives.