Broader Perspective - Latest Comments in Human augmentation via bacterial biome

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

knee pain — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 02:07:05 -0000

The
stresses of lifestyle could also be enough to make us need extra support. Or,
it should be the high speeds, the twisting, turning and / or diving that is
involved our sport which is able to terribly build our knees throb!

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

lablogga — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:34:49 -0000

Caltech synthetic biologist Christina Smolke notices that the human's on-board bacteria could be modified..."If you really want to apply a bacterium to a person, think about where they naturally exist and survive in a human while still trying to engineer new functions," More details are available here

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

lablogga — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:44:49 -0000

Hi Bill, thanks for the comment, I think the key point is that the bacteria are on-board. For connectivity and other purposes, it may not matter that they are in the gut.

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

Bill Hunf — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:16:05 -0000

Interesting idea, but as the vast majority of the human flora live in the gut (and not the brain or other parts of the nervous system), I'm not so sure of the benefit of harnessing them for a BCI.

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

Edgewise — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:21:40 -0000

Didn't Bruce Sterling suggest something similar in his book "Tomorrow Now"?

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

kevindoylejones — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:43:04 -0000

yeah we have a short term defensible complexity advantage, i agree. assuming we manage the challenges our distributed natures have presented for us in our current state of industrial collapse.

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

lablogga — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:45:54 -0000

Hi Cortana, thanks for the comment and I hope your recent move and new job are going well, btw.

To me the question of viruses is a specific case of the more general dual use technology argument - that any newtech can be used for good or evil purposes. The answer is to be smart about developing the newtech, being cognizant of the evil uses and building detection, prevention and antidote mechanisms into it. Just like biowarfare is certainly under development, biosensor development should be in lock-step.

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

lablogga — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:34:54 -0000

Hi Kevin, thanks for the comment. I like your point about inter-species UN-type diplomacy; humanity may have contemplated inter-species relations but probably not within one's own body!

Humans are just the current substrate for intelligence. Intelligence is substrate agnostic so if it finds a more viable platform, it will leap. One can envision a future with multiple platforms for intelligence, or said a different way, more mobility for intelligence. The complexity of the human brain has advantages that simple distributed networks are not likely to develop before human intelligence figures out how to become more platform-mobile.

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

Cortana Euler — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:43:57 -0000

hm... how are you going to deal with viruses? I think it will be such a tempting weapon for power hungry <self-moderated> , that any research or actual implementation will end up in stormy situation: I did not do it, because aliens hacked my bacterias and reprogrammed me to <insert your="" version="" of="" destroying="" the="" earth="">

Re: Human augmentation via bacterial biome

kevindoylejones — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:44:08 -0000

this is some wild shit. im thinking we need a macrobial/human UN. if they communicate, then they create their own network. and we have to explain our innate viability. networks are not passive. they are vehicles for intelligence to evolve. we use the bacteria. and they get?