Author Archives: roj christian lising

Human Augmentation: Salvation or Destruction?

With the emergence of technologies such as gene therapy, neural implants and brain-computer interfaces; one can only imagine, how far can we push the human body?

DNA. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

According to a report done by The National Intelligence Council, exoskeletons offer improved functionality over human limbs; allowing workers to carry increased loads without physical burden. Future neural implants could possibly link human brains to computers leading to enhanced “superhuman” abilities (think permanent photographic memory!)

However, not everyone believes in augmentation…

A movement called Bioconservatism challenges the idea of radical technological advancement in the basis that it destroys human dignity. According to them, should these augmentations come to fruition, they bring a problem that could change human society forever. This quote shows a Bioconservative sharing his testimony:

“It undermines our self – conception as free, thoughtful, responsible beings, worthy of respect because we alone among the animals have minds and hearts that aim far higher than the mere perpetuation of our genes.” – Leon Kass

Anti-Transhumanism. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The National Intelligence Council predicts that only the rich could purchase these augmentations due to their enormous costs. Which may create a divide between enhanced and non-enhanced individuals leading to a two-tiered society.

In fact, our daily lives would definitely change! Individuals with hearing or sight augmentations could invade our privacy and use our information for their own benefit. I guess annoying phone calls from telemarketers would stop (that’s great!), but instead they could just access your mind! (not so great!)

Our current technology prevents us from venturing further into human augmentation, as it cannot support these futuristic designs. For example, the battery life in exoskeletons doesn’t last long enough for practical use in work settings. Not to mention, malicious individuals could easily hack augmentations as this technology still remains in its infancy stage.

US Army Exoskeleton Prototype. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

While Bioconservatives disapprove of human augmentation, another movement called Transhumanism supports the change and believes that humans can evolve beyond our current physical and scientific limitations. A quote from a famous body artist states his opinion:

“The question is not whether a society will allow freedom to express yourself, but whether the human species will allow you to break the bonds of your genetic parameters” – Stelarc

Beyond philosophical ideas, the military sees human augmentation as the future of warfare. Researchers seek to develop retinal implants that offer night vision, neural implants that give improved cognitive ability (such as increased concentration) and augmented reality devices that enhance situational awareness of soldiers in battle.

In the future, we might see a real life Captain America or even an actual Terminator! (Excited?… maybe not)

In this day and age, if someone wants to change their physical appearance, services such as plastic surgery already exist. In my opinion, the individual should have the choice if they want to augment themselves.

I wouldn’t mind getting a bionic arm actually…

 

Guardians of the Upper Realm: Characteristics of Fighter Pilots

Let’s go back in time and reminisce about the 80’s: when kids watched Top Gun and dreamed of becoming fighter pilots. Honestly, Tom Cruise looked so cool in his jumpsuit and aviators (he really did..)

My 16 year old Dad decided he too would become a fighter pilot because of that movie. He studied aeronautical engineering and entered fighter pilot school in the Philippines. Although, he never finished because he decided to marry my Mom (another love story on its own). Nowadays, he designs and repairs planes, but no longer flies.

It made me think… what does it take to become a fighter pilot? How does the Air Force decide who gets to fly a multibillion dollar jet armed with weapons capable of thermonuclear destruction?

In fact, I don’t know how my Dad passed selection! As a teenager, he loved getting into fights and craved reckless activities. Why would you put someone like that in a fighter jet? I don’t think someone like that should operate such an advanced piece of military hardware!

An F-16 Fighting Falcon flies a mission in the skies near Iraq.(U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby)

Military leaders and flight surgeons check for specific cognitive abilities that would help students with flying in a high-stress environment.  Therefore, personality tests serve an essential role in assessing pilot candidates.

To my surprise, a study shows that many fighter pilots exhibit extraverted, conscientious and open-minded behaviour.

Yeah… that sounds exactly like my Dad, he can’t stop talking!

The researchers determined that this behaviour actually helps pilots with their challenging and high risk occupation.

Graph illustrates NEO-PI-R scores of USAF pilots vs. General population. Figure by Roj Lising. Data source: https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:180418/datastream/PDF/view

NEO-PI-R serves as a psychological test that identifies an individual’s Big Five personality traits (openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion,  agreeableness and neuroticism). Data from the graph shows that fighter pilots when compared to the general public, display more extroverted, open-minded and conscientious (achievement striving) behaviour! However, fighter pilots exhibit less neurotic (anxious) and agreeable behaviour ( hard-headed).

In summary, fighter pilots get along with others, but still enjoy heated conversations (friendly, of course). They seek a thrilling, dangerous and fast-paced life (they fly jets that go faster than the speed of sound). They tolerate stress better than the general population (having a nervous breakdown shouldn’t happen) and have a high opinion of themselves (a must).

I guess my Dad really did embody a great candidate. His laid-back attitude would have certainly helped during tense moments (WARNING, missile lock!). His aggressiveness would have definitely given him an edge in dog fights (aerial battles between pilots).

Would my Mom let me become a fighter pilot?

Probably not.

 

Bioterrorism: An Impending Global Threat

Since antiquity, biological warfare decimated the opposition.  The Assyrians developed fungus that poisoned enemy forces while the Mongols threw fallen soldiers over city walls to spread disease. However, present day treaties and protocols have banned biological weaponry for military use.

Unfortunately, the modern age introduced a new threat: Bioterrorism.

Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Special Weapons Protection Unit (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler S. Giguere/Released)

Security agencies around the world struggle to detect biochemical agents. Terrorists can easily create anthrax and smallpox to inflict mass hysteria in enclosed areas such as airports or schools.

Anthrax acts as a potent nerve agent (destroys the body’s nervous system), while smallpox can infect millions of people, killing 30% of those afflicted. Thus, governments have responded by creating defence organizations tasked with combating this emerging threat.

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.” – Nietzsche

To me, this quote best describes the proper way of fighting back. I believe using destructive weaponry to annihilate terrorists does not make us any better than them. A fine line must exist, that separates us from becoming the very monsters, we fear ourselves.

So far, military research has focused more on prevention over elimination of the enemy. Particularly, in the field of spectroscopy which studies how light interacts with physical objects.

A study done in 2011 by researchers from the Defense Science & Technology Laboratory United Kingdom developed PD-SORS (Point Detection – Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy), a new technique that can detect traces of urine hidden in containers from distances of up to 20 cm away. Very similar to the Tricorder from Star Trek (a portable scanning sensor).

SORS works like this: a laser beam fires from a box and hits an object (encased by a barrier) which then scatters around its container before returning back to the box for analysis. A variety of barriers were tested: ranging from paper envelopes, jiffy bags and complex chemical compounds. To great effect, the detector picked up urine traces in all different types of containers!

Raman spectra of drugs. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Raman spectra of drugs. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

SORS serves a crucial role in defence because traditional Raman spectroscopy excels in transparent and open-air settings. However, most threats hide from the public eye. Terrorists will place dirty bombs in suitcases, jackets and even coffee cups!

The ability to detect sub-surface threats proves invaluable in thwarting potential terrorist attacks. This practical application will allow airport security to improve their efficiency and accuracy when screening for potential threats at checkpoints.

Fighting headstrong may have worked in ancient times, but bioterrorism will require a different strategy. The key lies in prevention, where the greatest victory requires no battle.