Imagine Beyond

Season 1
Season 2

Will robots one day satisfy our need for love?

Look into the future of pleasure, lust and connection

Until now, scientists and developers have pushed to discover whether artificial intelligence can love humans, and vice versa. Welcome to the age of robot relationships.

AI loves me; AI loves me not

In Steven Spielberg's 2001 blockbuster science fiction film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a highly advanced robot boy pursues a loving foster human who abandoned him. At the time it seemed far fetched. Today, it looks more like reality.

Imagine Beyond: Build me Somebody to Love looks at how AI is changing the way we look at love, lust and human connection. Could you marry a robot? Will a hunk of metal look after you in your dying days? Let's see how human machines could become.

NextAutoplay

Could immortality be this easy?

Eat turmeric, exercise regularly, sleep well – a few of many tips to increase your lifespan. But if they work, they will probably only give you a handful of extra years. If you want to drastically prolong your time on earth, here's what you might do instead.

Where do You Stop Being Human?

Imagine Beyond: Superhuman or Lost Human

Remember when you were a kid, running around with your friends, imagining having superpowers and fighting the bad guys? Eventually you outgrew it and are now having a regular human job, but a lot of scientists are driven by their imaginations and are working on technologies to augment ourselves into superhumans.

Human augmentation can aid produce better prosthetics or reduce genetic disorders, and could create a better life for a lot of people – but it also raises the question of where to draw the line: Where does a human stop being human and start becoming a machine?



Creating Joy

We humans have been augmenting our bodies for thousands of years. And we have come a long way from wooden legs to microprocessor prosthetics. It is not just about giving people the opportunity to be independent, after losing an arm or a leg – it is giving back the quality of life everybody deserves. In the future robotic limbs could be integrated into the human body, boosting our biological capabilities. Similar to an upgrade: Human 2.0.

Technology Has its Price

State-of-the-art technology and design have their price. You get what you can pay for. If you cannot afford it you are not getting it. Nowadays it may be that you cannot afford to get a modern and perfectly fitted microprocessor prosthetics. In the future it may lead to parallel universes in one world. An example of this dystopian view is the Netflix series Altered Carbon: The wealthiest people can afford to choose every type of body they want or what kind of augmentation they want to integrate in those bodies, while the rest of humanity has to take what is given to them – like the 8 year old girl which was "resleeved" into the body of a middle aged woman.

When Does Humanity Stop?

Humanity may had millions of years to evolve, but can we still stay human, if we are filled with technology? Imagine if you could preserve yourself, the way you think, the way you talk, what you like or dislike and be able to live forever in different synthetic bodies. Would it still be you, or just a copy of who you used to be– an artificial intelligence which got fed with the data of you and how you process information? If someone has his genetics transformed so that they could process information faster and remember things better than anyone around him, are they still the same person they were before? Will genetically engineered people be a normality, and regular born humans discriminated, like in the movie Gattaca?

For now, we cannot say if our future will be more a utopia or dystopia. For all we know scientists are creating technology to improve our lives day by day, which makes me optimistic about how our society will be tomorrow.

Want to hack your brain?

Imagine Beyond, episode 3: The Mind

Our brain is a miracle of nature. It is the central point from which our senses and all functions of the body are controlled, most of them subconsciously. In the course of evolution, we have developed our consciousness, learned to communicate with each other in different ways, and designed tools to help us with our daily tasks. Our brain is unique in the animal world. But what happens when you combine this miracle with the latest technology?

In the third part of our Imagine Beyond series, we deal with the augmentation of our mind. What is already possible today in the field of brain research? What would a future look like, in which people connect more than ever before with technology? What would be the downside of such a development? But first of all, we want to look at how the mental connection between humans and machines can be created.


Our Mind

geralt - Pixabay

Raise your left hand and clench a fist. It doesn't sound difficult at first, isn't it? After all, you do this movement several times a day without thinking much about it. But do you know what happens in your body and especially in your brain to make this movement possible? About 86 billion neurons in our brain constantly communicate with each other so that we can feel, act and think. For a single action, like the clenching of a fist, complex chemical and electrical processes take place on thousands of cells in milliseconds.

What is a Brain-Computer-Interface?

Imagine you are a brain scientist and want to develop a robotic hand that responses just to the same to brain impulses like a human hand. How will this work? It requires an interface between the human brain and the technology, a so-called brain-computer interface (BCI). BCIs are based on the observation that the imagination of an action triggers measurable changes in electrical brain activity. The imagination of clenching our hand, for instance, leads to an activation of our motor cortex. However, communication between humans and machines has so far only been possible in one direction. We can see that something is happening, but we do not feel it.

Giphy

Do we need this Technology

The application possibilities of this technology are manifold. Rehabilitation is one area. Tesla founder Elon Musk and his company Neuralink are advancing into the field of BCIs in order to create new ways of healing in medicine and even more...

The technology could also be used for entertainment or in everyday life. We could enormously improve the performance of our brain, communicate with our partner through thoughts, control devices with our senses or immerse ourselves in deeper virtual worlds than ever before. But how will technology affect us humans and how will we behave?

The question is: Do we want that? This may sound very futuristic now, but the only thing that might distinguish us from machines in the future could be our mind.


The joy of getting your leg back


Imagine Beyond, Episode 2: The Body

Meet Mike Jones who lost his leg in a motor accident but with the help of an artificial limb, he felt as if he had his leg back again. Scientists across the world are working hard on robotic limbs that can be integrated into our human bodies in a way that they become better than our biological limbs. Leaving us with the question... will we be able to become super humans at some point?

Imagine Beyond is a new web series about human augmentation. We are at an exciting stage of evolution. What was science-fiction is now becoming fact and it is happening faster than most of us expected. Missed the first episode? Check it out here.

Imagine Beyond: Human Augmentation

Are You the Next Super Human?

Human augmentation is not a new phenomenon. We have been augmenting ourselves for thousands of years. As artist, composer Brian Eno explains: 'The spear is an augmented arm. The hammer is an augmented fist.' However, we are now at an exciting stage of evolution. What was science-fiction is now becoming fact and it is happening faster than most of us expected. But what is human augmentation? How will technology change our minds and bodies? And why does it matter?

Our new series Imagine Beyond takes on these questions to show how human augmentation can shape the world as we know it. But first, let's understand what human augmentation actually is.

What is Human Augmentation?

"The field of human augmentation (sometimes referred to as "Human 2.0") focuses on creating cognitive and physical improvements as an integral part of the human body. An example is using active control systems to create limb prosthetics with characteristics that can exceed the highest natural human performance." (gartner.com)

How Ethical is Human Augmentation?

Still, if we think of human augmentation, we imagine cyborgs and maybe even Daleks. But it is so much more. You might remember the movie Transcendence, where Will Caster's consciousness is uploaded onto a computer, and thus turning himself into artificial intelligence. It didn't take long before the first ethical questions popped up: Is this AI really Will? Is it dangerous for an AI to be able to think like a human and not just for the purpose it has been programmed for? Is it okay to take over the bodies of other people for doing greater good?

Human Augmentation: Too Science Fiction?

You might think that this is way too science fiction, but researchers are already working on transcending our minds into computers which could lead to us learning faster, not being tied to one location or even body. Just imagine the possibilities. Scenarios such as in Netflix' Altered Carbon do not seem that far-fetched anymore; we could cheat illness and death because we would be more than "just" our DNA. We are in the middle of the next step of our human evolution and I am excited about what is to come.

In our new web series Imagine Beyond we at Tomorrow Unlocked want to show you where we stand today and how our human self may be augmented in the future, making our life easier and also better.

Where do You Stop Being Human?

Imagine Beyond: Superhuman or Lost Human

Remember when you were a kid, running around with your friends, imagining having superpowers and fighting the bad guys? Eventually you outgrew it and are now having a regular human job, but a lot of scientists are driven by their imaginations and are working on technologies to augment ourselves into superhumans.

Human augmentation can aid produce better prosthetics or reduce genetic disorders, and could create a better life for a lot of people – but it also raises the question of where to draw the line: Where does a human stop being human and start becoming a machine?



Creating Joy

We humans have been augmenting our bodies for thousands of years. And we have come a long way from wooden legs to microprocessor prosthetics. It is not just about giving people the opportunity to be independent, after losing an arm or a leg – it is giving back the quality of life everybody deserves. In the future robotic limbs could be integrated into the human body, boosting our biological capabilities. Similar to an upgrade: Human 2.0.

Technology Has its Price

State-of-the-art technology and design have their price. You get what you can pay for. If you cannot afford it you are not getting it. Nowadays it may be that you cannot afford to get a modern and perfectly fitted microprocessor prosthetics. In the future it may lead to parallel universes in one world. An example of this dystopian view is the Netflix series Altered Carbon: The wealthiest people can afford to choose every type of body they want or what kind of augmentation they want to integrate in those bodies, while the rest of humanity has to take what is given to them – like the 8 year old girl which was "resleeved" into the body of a middle aged woman.

When Does Humanity Stop?

Humanity may had millions of years to evolve, but can we still stay human, if we are filled with technology? Imagine if you could preserve yourself, the way you think, the way you talk, what you like or dislike and be able to live forever in different synthetic bodies. Would it still be you, or just a copy of who you used to be– an artificial intelligence which got fed with the data of you and how you process information? If someone has his genetics transformed so that they could process information faster and remember things better than anyone around him, are they still the same person they were before? Will genetically engineered people be a normality, and regular born humans discriminated, like in the movie Gattaca?

For now, we cannot say if our future will be more a utopia or dystopia. For all we know scientists are creating technology to improve our lives day by day, which makes me optimistic about how our society will be tomorrow.

From Your Site Articles

NextAutoplay

Want to hack your brain?

Imagine Beyond, episode 3: The Mind

Our brain is a miracle of nature. It is the central point from which our senses and all functions of the body are controlled, most of them subconsciously. In the course of evolution, we have developed our consciousness, learned to communicate with each other in different ways, and designed tools to help us with our daily tasks. Our brain is unique in the animal world. But what happens when you combine this miracle with the latest technology?

In the third part of our Imagine Beyond series, we deal with the augmentation of our mind. What is already possible today in the field of brain research? What would a future look like, in which people connect more than ever before with technology? What would be the downside of such a development? But first of all, we want to look at how the mental connection between humans and machines can be created.


Our Mind

geralt - Pixabay

Raise your left hand and clench a fist. It doesn't sound difficult at first, isn't it? After all, you do this movement several times a day without thinking much about it. But do you know what happens in your body and especially in your brain to make this movement possible? About 86 billion neurons in our brain constantly communicate with each other so that we can feel, act and think. For a single action, like the clenching of a fist, complex chemical and electrical processes take place on thousands of cells in milliseconds.

What is a Brain-Computer-Interface?

Imagine you are a brain scientist and want to develop a robotic hand that responses just to the same to brain impulses like a human hand. How will this work? It requires an interface between the human brain and the technology, a so-called brain-computer interface (BCI). BCIs are based on the observation that the imagination of an action triggers measurable changes in electrical brain activity. The imagination of clenching our hand, for instance, leads to an activation of our motor cortex. However, communication between humans and machines has so far only been possible in one direction. We can see that something is happening, but we do not feel it.

Giphy

Do we need this Technology

The application possibilities of this technology are manifold. Rehabilitation is one area. Tesla founder Elon Musk and his company Neuralink are advancing into the field of BCIs in order to create new ways of healing in medicine and even more...

The technology could also be used for entertainment or in everyday life. We could enormously improve the performance of our brain, communicate with our partner through thoughts, control devices with our senses or immerse ourselves in deeper virtual worlds than ever before. But how will technology affect us humans and how will we behave?

The question is: Do we want that? This may sound very futuristic now, but the only thing that might distinguish us from machines in the future could be our mind.


The joy of getting your leg back


Imagine Beyond, Episode 2: The Body

Meet Mike Jones who lost his leg in a motor accident but with the help of an artificial limb, he felt as if he had his leg back again. Scientists across the world are working hard on robotic limbs that can be integrated into our human bodies in a way that they become better than our biological limbs. Leaving us with the question... will we be able to become super humans at some point?

Imagine Beyond is a new web series about human augmentation. We are at an exciting stage of evolution. What was science-fiction is now becoming fact and it is happening faster than most of us expected. Missed the first episode? Check it out here.

This Valentine’s Day – are you ready for AI love?

Spielberg, your dreams may have come true

Valentine's Day: a celebration of cherubs, chocolates and human contact. Until COVID-19 hit. As the global pandemic continues to rip up the dating rulebook, and with loneliness at an all-time high, is now the right time to consider if we can start to love machines?

Robot relationships become a real possibility this Valentine's

Tinder. Bumble. Grindr. The notion of digitized matchmaking is nothing new, but normally a love match is followed by dating in real life. However, with COVID-19 bringing feelings of isolation, detachment and loneliness, even digital dates don't satisfy our need for human interaction. The answer? AI-powered sex companions and robot relationships.

Back in 2018, Forbes described sex robots as "the most disruptive technology we didn't see coming," predicting robots will become familiar companions in the future. As people attempt to replace Netflix with new interactions, we may be on the cusp of a surge in AI, robot and virtual relationships.

The year of love and loneliness

Found in Kaspersky's Love and Loneliness campaign, 84 percent of people across Europe admitted they are lonelier during the pandemic than before. This detachment from human contact meant that nearly two in three 18 to 34-year-olds used technologies like video-calling, online dating and chatbots to fight feelings of loneliness. A clear sign that we're now more likely to seek companionship using tech in times of need.

Be still, my mechanical heart

A year has passed since COVID-19 entered most of our lives. During this time, we;ve become more confident and creative with the tech we use. And as feelings of loneliness intensify, it's fair to say that the idea of artificial comfort, company or closeness is no longer as bizarre as it may have seemed before the pandemic.

We're heading towards another Valentine's Day, and for those already feeling detached, technology could provide a (literal) release. Using AI and robots to enhance sex and relationships won't be for everyone, but for those who do explore this novel territory, it's a meaningful option. Just as using dating apps or going on a Zoom date was considered bizarre just a few years ago, this tech could be the future of love.


We need to keep this new tech secure. The past year has called for heightened education around email scams and other escalating cybercrime threats. It's knowledge that keeps people safe. And knowledge can only be shared if we're open to discussing these new technologies without stigma.


Can we learn to love robots? Watch more stories about AI, robots and love in the Imagine Beyond episode: Build Me Somebody To Love.

From Your Site Articles
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NextAutoplay

Will robots one day satisfy our need for love?

Look into the future of pleasure, lust and connection

Until now, scientists and developers have pushed to discover whether artificial intelligence can love humans, and vice versa. Welcome to the age of robot relationships.

AI loves me; AI loves me not

In Steven Spielberg's 2001 blockbuster science fiction film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a highly advanced robot boy pursues a loving foster human who abandoned him. At the time it seemed far fetched. Today, it looks more like reality.

Imagine Beyond: Build me Somebody to Love looks at how AI is changing the way we look at love, lust and human connection. Could you marry a robot? Will a hunk of metal look after you in your dying days? Let's see how human machines could become.

Could immortality be this easy?

Eat turmeric, exercise regularly, sleep well – a few of many tips to increase your lifespan. But if they work, they will probably only give you a handful of extra years. If you want to drastically prolong your time on earth, here's what you might do instead.