Monday 21 June 2021

Human Augmentation 3

 

“The impact of legislative changes on moral beliefs is also important, with some evidence suggesting that changes to morality are often caused by legislative changes.  Defence, however, cannot wait for ethics to change before engaging with human augmentation, we must be in the conversation from the outset to inform the debate and understand how ethical views are evolving.”


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/986301/Human_Augmentation_SIP_access2.pdf

 

The impact of changes in legislation,

Upon the public’s moral foundation,

Provides us with hope, for there’s some suggestion

The dutiful, rule-loving population

Have no thought at all for morality,

Caring only for popularity

Among their peers.

 

Espousing fashionable ideas,

Trumps all more basic moral fears,

And every educated type, believes the latest hype.

 

We must start engaging

Before any raging,

Plant seeds in many minds, as we plan,

And prepare our acts,

We must always reiterate,

That as long as there’s debate,

And people are shown a few facts,

Then governments may legislate.

For defence cannot wait for ethics to change,

Before we start to rearrange

Our understanding of what can

And what cannot be done to man.

 

 

 

Human Augmentation 2

 

“The reliance on personal data to enable human augmentation will pose significant data security and privacy challenges. The frameworks to secure this data will have to be both national and international in nature, ensuring that it is easily shared and used for common good, but also well protected.”


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/986301/Human_Augmentation_SIP_access2.pdf

 


To proceed with its implementation,

The science of human augmentation,

With its reliance on information,

Known previously as personal data,

Must pre-empt the great frustration,

Which will arise, sooner or later,

At having to deal with public fear

Of security threats and privacy invasion.

Nations must do more than initiate conversation,

Governments must put in place legislation,

And reassure the public, all that they hold dear,

Is safe in the hands of the state,

Hidden from those that hate.

Governments must appear,

Incredibly sincere,

Reassure the general population

That their lives won’t really be affected,

That they’ll be guarded, well protected,

Despite the little chips, inserted under the skin,

Controlling their every thought and every mood they’re in.

 

 

Human Augmentation, The Dawn Of A New Paradigm


“National regulations dictating the pace and scope of scientific research reflect societal views, particularly in democracies that are more sensitive to public opinion.”

“The future of human augmentation should not, however, be decided by ethicists or public opinion.”

 

 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/986301/Human_Augmentation_SIP_access2.pdf



The pace and scope of research in this field

Of human augmentation, may be dictated

By national regulation. The field may be slated

As Frankenstein-like, science fiction,

So it is best that much of it remains concealed,

There’s no need to cause unnecessary friction.

Let the people believe that governments act with good intention,

Interested only in longevity and death prevention,

But let the bio sciences have dominion,

The future can’t be shaped by ethics, or public opinion.

 

 

Thursday 3 June 2021

“Conspiracy Theories“



I heard a story once, and I believed it,

Not because I knew

That it was literally true,

But because whoever had conceived it,

Had thought it worth inventing, as a warning,

About what men with power can do.

I heard a fable once and knew the tale,

Especially the moral at its ending,

Was one that I should heed,

And it has served me well indeed,

And things of such great use should never need defending. 

And so I put my trust in pure invention,

Which speaks a beneficial truth to comprehension, 

That lies beneath the skin of understanding,

And serves its purpose as a tool,

And though I’m often called a fool,

I don’t give in when others are demanding

That I should listen to the narratives the state tells,

Because they’re called ‘the news’ or ‘scientific fact’,

For though politicians do not speak of evil fairies,

They’re experts in casting spells.