If I can get all science-fictiony for a moment, I think the eventual mastery of regeneration technology will revolutionize and utterly alter the nature of human society. Think about it: let's say that people develop a kind of proteinaceous nanostructure that is essentially the outline of the organ to be replaced. A combination of stem cells and nanobots is sprayed onto or injected into the structure, and it becomes a bone, a heart, a lung, an ear, or a length of intestine. Because these are stem cells, they're genetically compatible with one's own biological makeup, so there's no rejection of the new organ or body part.
Now imagine what this means for serious injuries. Just as we now take for granted that antibiotics and other meds can help us if we get a scratch, break a bone, or catch a cold (things that could have been a death sentence long ago), future humans can get shot or even survive horrific crashes, and it wouldn't be tragic: just replace whatever needs to be replaced, and voilà. In fact, I can foresee a sector of the population engaging in self-mutilation and self-injury for fun, knowing they can go to the hospital (or autodoc or whatever) and be healed in a jiffy. Prostheses are only a blind, stumbling beginning.
If we do go far down the road of regenerative care, though, I predict there will be a "ship of Theseus" problem as we keep replacing body parts until we get to a point where we have to ask ourselves how much of our original selves remains. The series "Star Trek: Picard" deals with this at least superficially when Picard himself dies at the end of Season 1 (see my Season 1 review) and finds his consciousness has been transferred into a cybernetic "golem" that faithfully replicates Picard's bodily traits and functions so that Picard, in his new body, feels utterly the same—but without his terminal illness. Are we eventually going to "Cylonize" ourselves centuries from now?
Funny, the thoughts sparked by a mere prosthetic limb.
As a kid, I remember thinking many similar thoughts watching the "Star Trek" episode, "What are Little Girls Made Of?" Andrea's costume, or lack of, had me thinking other thoughts as well.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while longer to put together just how preposterous bionic limbs are after being enthralled by Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers as a kid. While bionic limbs may be extremely powerful, our connective, natural body parts and organs are not when it comes to extreme pressures and motions. A realistic depiction would have lasted just seconds as bionic arms and legs detached from human tissues, joints, and pelvic and shoulder regions. "Robot Chicken" toyed with this and augmenting other parts of Jamie's anatomy. The end result was both beautiful and disgusting.