How the human species will be “upgraded” ... or evolve into subspecies
Briar Prestidge
CEO & Founder | Award-Winning Doco Producer, Executive Branding, Publicist | Metaverse Advisor for INTERPOL | Futurist & Avatar Tech-Fashion Designer
As we stand at the dawn of AI systems matching or exceeding human-level cognition across virtually any task (Artificial General Intelligence), I wonder: are we about to trigger the most rapid evolutionary adaptation our species has ever seen?
We're not just using technology anymore – we're merging with it. Already, over two hundred thousand people with disabilities live with neural implants of some kind, from cochlear implants to deep brain stimulators. Neuralink’s vision is to eventually make brain-computer interfaces accessible to the general public, enabling users to control computers or mobile devices seamlessly, no matter where they are.
And as different groups of humans are likely to adapt or embrace technology in vastly different ways to ‘keep up’ with the billion humanoid AI-robots we could see living amongst us and to integrate our physical and virtual worlds (goodbye tech neck!), we could see the splintering of the human race into various "subspecies" based on the enhancements we choose.
You might have the ‘Homo Sapiens Superintelligence’, people integrated with artificial intelligence via a neural interface, potentially developing enhanced cognitive capabilities that would seem almost supernatural by today's standards, allowing us to solve previously insurmountable challenges like climate change, disease, and space colonization.
Or the ‘Homo Sapiens Bionicus’ with various artificial bionic organs and limbs. Through synthetic biology and tissue engineering, some might even choose to enhance their bodies with lab-grown organs or redesigned biological systems optimized for specific environments like deep space or underwater habitats.
Others might choose to remain "Purely Organic Humans," creating potential disparities in how different groups interact with and benefit from advanced AI.
The relationship between enhanced humans could range from symbiotic partnerships to competitive coexistence. Enhanced humans might create unprecedented societal divisions, potentially spawning a two-tiered civilization where the augmented and unaugmented live increasingly divergent lives.
Will this trigger social unrest, economic upheaval, or even violent conflicts?
Maybe the question isn't just whether we'll achieve more, but whether we'll remain unified enough as a species to share in those achievements.
Let's investigate…
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A hive mind of organic and artificial intelligence
Elon Musk recently stated we might see 10 billion humanoid robots walking among us by 2040. His vision for the Optimus Tesla Bot includes a price point under $20,000 – about the cost of a car – making it a potential household staple. When humanoid robots become cheaper, more mobile and productive than human workers, we'll face profound questions about the nature of work itself.
Current humanoid robots, including Tesla’s Optimus and Figure 01, rely on machine learning to adapt and improve. As they interact with their environment and humans, they refine their understanding of tasks, social interactions, and problem-solving approaches, and share their knowledge with other robots. This dynamic learning process means that these robots can potentially acquire new skills and knowledge at rates far exceeding human learning capabilities.
Some researchers predict that once we achieve AGI, we might rapidly progress to artificial superintelligence through recursive self-improvement, potentially leading to what's known as the technological singularity – a hypothetical point where AI's capabilities surpass human understanding and control.
Augmented humans, connected with AI through a neural interface, could freely share knowledge and thoughts, forming a "hive mind” and network of collective intelligence.
Together, enhanced humans and advanced robots could share not just physical spaces, but a united cognitive network of organic and artificial intelligence allowing us to combine our human creativity with robotic processing power, and enable quantum-speed decision-making.
Could this collective intelligence become a powerful new form of social capital, capable of reshaping democracy, art, and economies?
As individual identities blend into networked entities, how will our long-held concepts of privacy, autonomy, and consciousness need to be redefined?
Such changes could also create new social divisions, with connected groups gaining influence through their shared intelligence, potentially leaving others behind.
Biology meets the digital age
Did you know that in the past 100,000 years, human brain size has actually decreased by about 13%? It's a fact that puzzled scientists until they proposed the 'domestication hypothesis' – suggesting we've been inadvertently self-selecting for more cooperative, less aggressive traits.
Now as we enter an era of human-AI integration, could we be on the brink of the fastest evolutionary leap in our species' history?
While our ancestors' brains adapted to accommodate language and social cooperation, our future generations might see adaptations. Consider how our speech organs – the tongue, vocal cords, and facial muscles – might evolve if direct “mind to mind” communication becomes commonplace. Just as our jaws changed with the advent of cooked food, our communication biology might transform when thoughts can be shared directly between minds (thanks to new technologies).
Will direct mind-to-mind messaging make us more reclusive, as some fear? The more fascinating possibility lies in how this technology might reshape our cognitive architecture. Direct mental communication could spawn new forms of thought organization and information processing. We might develop entirely new mental "languages" optimized for brain-to-brain transmission, just as written language revolutionized human thinking and culture thousands of years ago.
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We may edit our genome using gene-editing technologies like CRISPR, enabling us to potentially eradicate hereditary diseases, increase resistance to pathogens, or selectively amplify desirable cognitive and physical traits. There is openness to this, 48% of Americans say they would “definitely or probably” want this for their baby.
Of course, this comes with moral and ethical considerations. Who gets to decide which genes are worth enhancing, and how do we define “improvement” in a species as diverse and adaptable as our own? Will the less financially secure segment of the population lag behind even more if this comes with a high price tag?
A step toward colonizing Mars
The race to Mars has become increasingly competitive, with multiple players pushing humanity toward becoming a spacefaring civilization. SpaceX's Elon Musk aims to establish a self-sustaining city on Mars by 2050, while NASA's Artemis program plans to use the Moon as a stepping stone for Mars missions in the 2030s, while China has announced plans to send its first crewed mission to Mars by 2033.
Beyond the romantic notion of becoming a multi-planetary species, there are practical reasons for a new life on Mars. Stephen Hawking famously warned that humanity needs to colonize other planets within 100 years to ensure our survival. Climate change, asteroid impacts, nuclear war – the existential threats to Earth are numerous. Mars, despite its harsh environment, offers our best chance for a "backup drive" of human civilization.
While there's extensive discussion about Mars missions and building spacecraft to take us there to avoid climate change etc, we're overlooking a crucial element. The harsh realities of space travel - deadly radiation, extreme gravitational forces, and prolonged isolation - aren't just engineering challenges, they're biological ones. Our bodies, evolved for life on Earth, simply aren't equipped for the rigors of deep space exploration.
This is where technological evolution could become critical. By enhancing our biology through emerging technologies, we could adapt ourselves for space travel in ways natural evolution never could. Imagine radiation-resistant skin modifications, enhanced bone density for varying gravitational environments, or neural implants that help our brains cope with extended isolation. Dr. Natasha Vita-More, one of the leading voices on transhumanism, has envisioned what she calls the “Primo Posthuman”, which is an enhanced, augmented human body that is better equipped to live in space, featuring aspects like a smart skin and nanomachines.
Who (or what) will we become?
The Ship of Theseus, an ancient thought experiment, asks: If a ship has all of its components gradually replaced over time, does it remain the same ship? This question takes on new relevance in an age where we can replace failing organs with artificial ones, enhance our cognitive abilities with brain implants, and even edit our genetic code.
At what point do we cease to be human in the traditional sense, and become something entirely new?
If we enhance our brains with AI neural-interfaces, replace our organs with synthetic versions, and modify our genes for space travel, what percentage of our original biology needs to remain for us to still be considered ‘human’?
Consider that not all groups were always recognized as fully human by those in positions of dominance; enslaved individuals, for example, were systematically stripped of their personhood by their oppressors. This painful legacy demonstrates that our definitions of who “counts” as a person have often been swayed by prejudice, fear, and the desire to maintain certain hierarchies.
As we look to a future where technological enhancements could dramatically reshape what it means to be human, we must remain vigilant. We may need to grapple with profound questions about rights and responsibilities as some individuals embrace radical augmentation while others do not. Legal and philosophical frameworks will need to evolve alongside our technological advancements.
Now, many will understandably have reservations about this. There are valid concerns around equity and access to these technologies creating an even wider gap between the haves and have-nots.
But like it or not, this future is coming. Technology has and always will continue to progress, and rather than futilely resisting it, I believe we are better off proactively engaging in the discussion now to help steer it in a direction that benefits us.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR, BRIAR PRESTIDGE:
Briar Prestidge, CEO of Prestidge Group, is an award-winning documentary producer, Web3 evangelist, and futurist. She is also a metaverse board advisor to INTERPOL's Investigations and Forensics team, as well as a board advisor to Humanity+, the Metaverse Fashion Council, and serves as a strategic advisor for Imagin3 Studio.
In 2016, Briar founded Prestidge Group, a leading executive personal branding, PR, and speaker relations agency. The company manages HNWIs, C-level executives, technology experts, celebrities, government officials, and investors, with offices in Dubai, New York, and London.
In her award-winning documentary '48 Hours in the Metaverse', Briar spent 48 hours non-stop on VR and metaverse platforms interviewing 21 experts across 33 virtual worlds. The documentary was awarded five laurels from major film festivals and was featured in leading publications such as Forbes and WIRED. As a tech-fashion designer, Briar has a futuristic fashion label for avatars and a shopping empire on Roblox under her tech-fashion house OLTAIR. In 2021, her first phygital fashion label, inspired by her luxury suit collection (now closed), was showcased at the world’s first Metaverse Fashion Week on Decentraland.
Briar aims to influence a new generation of creative thinkers who dare to envision humanity’s next steps. To learn about how we can elevate the human condition, find solutions to world problems, and find a balance between opportunity and risk, she hosts exclusive discussions with visionary CEOs, tech experts, scientists, inventors, futurists, and philosophers on her podcast HYPERSCALE: The Podcast of the Future, and on her upcoming documentary, Cyborg To Be.
Briar was named one of the ‘Top 100 Most Influential’ people in the United Arab Emirates by Ahlan! Magazine, and has been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, OSN, Emirates Woman, Marie Claire, Grazia, WIRED, and The National, among others, in recognition of her work.