Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve released new research on Augmented Humanity and the shift towards commercial-grade tech that will expand our physical and mental capabilities as never before.

1. AUGMENTED
HUMANITY
COPYRIGHT © 2017

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Bioware
3 Territories of Augmented Humanity

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WETWAREAn assault on the barrier
between humans & machines

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HARDWEARNew tools physically extend
our bodies & minds

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BIOWARETransforming how our DNA
changes what it means to
be human

6. Wetware
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NEURAL LACESci-fi notion of electronic netting
that grows into the brain,
integrating with its functions.

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MESH
ELECTRONICS“Plugging your computer into
your brain becomes a lot more
palatable if all you need to do
is inject something.”
– Jacob Robinson, Neuro-Nanotechnologist,
Rice University
“[In the future] the net may be
studded with feedback devices
that deliver electrical stimulation
or release packets of drugs for
medical treatment…”
– Smithsonian Magazine

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Developed through DARPA’s
Re-Net, the Stentrode is inserted
into the brain through a blood
vessel in the neck, a low- risk
procedure
MESH
ELECTRONICS
First Human Trials,
Melbourne 2017

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QUANTIFYING
THE MINDThe data that can be collected by
these implants will lead to a new
understanding of the mind & its
potential to integrate with
technology

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“Through the combination of HI
(human intelligence) & AI, we are at
the brink of intelligence
enhancement, which could be the
most consequential technological
development of our time & in history.”
– Bryan Johnson,
CEO of Kernel, a brain-science company
QUANTIFYING
THE MIND
“Such advancements could allow us to
literally program our neural code,
transforming ourselves in ways that we
can’t even imagine. We could literally
program ourselves into the people that
we want to be…” – Futurism.com

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JET SCALLOPSEven less invasive than a brain
injection, these jet-powered
microbes could allow us to
manipulate the brain or body with
no permanent hardware

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Mistware will enter
& leave the body
with ease

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• Tech-extended cognition/intellect rebalances
the playing field for those seeking work.
• Education as we know it ends. Social,
emotional and healing skills – the Human Arts
– rise when all other realms of learning can be
programmed.
• Spirituality rises as we seek to understand
what makes our Cyborg Selves human. Will
Robots also get religion?
• Technology rises to satisfy and hack our
human, sensory needs. WeVibe connected
sex toys are just the beginning.
WHAT’S NEXT

15. HARDwEAR
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“FORTIS™ allows operators to use heavy tools
as if they were weightless. An advanced
ergonomic design moves naturally with the body
and adapts to different body types and heights.
…Our FORTIS exoskeleton is available starting
at $23,320 per unit” – Lockheed Martin
HIGH POWER
“Lockheed Martin developed the
Human Universal Load Carrier
(HULC) for the U.S. Army to
explore the potential for
exoskeleton technology to alleviate
strain and fatigue for soldiers who
carry heavy loads over long
distances.” – Lockheed Martin

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POWER SUITS
UNPLUGGEDSuitX can reduce the muscle force needed to
complete a task by 60%. It is an unpowered
exoskeleton composed of three modules that
can be worn as needed the full body with all
three modules retails for $10,000.
In an effort to break the world record
marathon time, Nike has released a
shoe it claims makes runners 4%
faster. “It’s actually easier to run in the
shoe than to stand around talking in it.
They’re like ski-boots that way.”
– Wired

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Inspired by SRI work performed for
DARPA’s Warrior Web Program,
This material can prevent and reduce
musculoskeletal injuries caused by
dynamic events. Currently SRI is
focusing on using the technologies to
assist individuals with
musculoskeletal diseases”
– Superflex brochure
SUPER FLEX

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MEDICAL APPSThe Phoenix exoskeleton is the world's lightest
and most advanced exoskeleton designed to help
people with mobility disorders to be upright and
mobile. Phoenix has enabled many individuals to
stand up, walk about, & speak to peers eye-to-eye.
Touch Bionics has released
climb quantum, which can
make use of 'chip grips,' which
are little Bluetooth sensors you
can place on parts of a home
or office to automatically adjust
the i-limb's grip - for example to
better grip a faucet.” – Wearable

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Exoskeletons will help maintain
muscle strength in space and aid
humans on other worlds
IN SPACE

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KOREAN
FUTURE TECHFuture iterations of this robot suit could find
its application in a lot of different areas,
from construction and cargo loading to
rescue operations.
A modified version of that robotic vehicle is
already in development and planned to
operate in the Fukushima disaster area.
While some believe the project to be a
hoax, the designer insists it is real and that
it seems fake only because it went viral
well before its intended release.

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A series of biosensors detect
moments of fear & awe, and send
them to your friends. AudioTactile
fabric plays “hair-raising” frequencies
to evoke the sensation of excitement.
SENSOREE
AWELECTRIC

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FUTURE
EXOSKELETON“Future exoskeletons will be much better," says
engineer and futurist Dr Ian Pearson, describing
a 'Spider-Man' suit a few mm thick that uses
either electro-active polymers or folded
graphene capacitors to create electromagnetic
muscles, enabling super-human strength. "It
wouldn't look like metal armor, more like a
wetsuit – and it could be done in 10 years if you
had the kind of development budget that a
spacesuit normally has…”
– Wearable

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Versatile,
low-power, fashionable
enhancements

25. • The new status symbols will be designer
robotic components – branded titanium
limbs, celebrity exoskeletons
• A new growth market: Training, medical
care, and energy enhancement to help
us adapt to (and keep up with) our new
Cyborgian bodies
• Who will own the first chain of spas that
cater to our new Machine bodies?
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WHAT’S NEXT

26. BIOWARE
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By injecting pig embryos with stem
cells, researchers have created fetal
pigs that are .01% human.
The same technique has been used
to grow rat organs in mice, and
mouse organs in rats. Organ
transplants for all are within sight.
A NEW
CHIMERIC ERA

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Hereditable
Gene Editing
is Cool NowThe National Academies of Sciences and
Engineering say “it should be okay” so long
as it is done with proper multigenerational
oversight and follow-up for the sake of
treating disease only. However, the line
between treating diseases and creating
enhanced humans is blurry already.

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Scientists can spread a gene across
a population in a few generations.
GENE-DRIVE

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ANTI-CRISPRA new tool promises to give
scientists even greater control
over genes, limiting the possibility
of unwanted gene-editing.

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Scientists have developed computers
that can read and write information as
DNA. The computers are made from
the same chemicals as DNA and can
also interpret information stored in
organisms.
DNA IS A
COMPUTING
MEDIUM

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DNA IS $$$“…the FDA has allowed French
biotechnology company Cellectis to initiate
United States clinical trials for a new
cancer therapy. Unlike other CAR-T
therapies—which are custom products
made by genetically engineering each
patient’s own cells—Cellectis manufactures
CAR-T cells from healthy donors. …Over
the coming years, there will likely be
millions of people treated with genetically
engineered human cells. This is what the
first widespread use of human genetic
engineering is going to look like.”
– PS MAG

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Ancestry as
Commodity

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“Techno-humanism aims to amplify the power of humans, creating cyborgs and connecting humans to
computers, but it still sees human interests and desires as the highest authority in the universe.
Dataism is a new ethical system that says, yes, humans were special and important because up until now they
were the most sophisticated data processing system in the universe, but this is no longer the case. The tipping
point is when you have an external algorithm that understands you—your feelings, emotions, choices,
desires—better than you understand them yourself. That’s the point when we switch from amplifying humans
to making them redundant.
….When you talk about God and religion, in the end it’s all a question of authority. What is the highest source
of authority that you turn to when you have a problem in your life? A thousand years ago, you’d turn to the
church. Today, we expect algorithms to provide us with the answer—who to date, where to live, how to deal
with an economic problem. So more and more authority is shifting to these corporations.”
--Yuval Harari on his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Technology Will Supersede Government,
God & Humanity

35. • In the new era of Mosaic Identities –
your edited DNA, someone else’s
DNA, an animal organ, some
hardware – how will brands address
the proliferating MicroTribes of “people
like me”? How can they understand
and personalize their products and
messaging?
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WHAT’S NEXT

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Hardwear
Bioware
Wetware
THE FUTURE of Augmented Humanity
Implants will lead us to an ever
shifting tech-permeable body
Wearables and heavy power suits will
give way to versatile lightweight skins
A marketplace for genetic commodities will
transform life as it dehumanizes us all