Discussion: Beyond smartphones, smart glasses, and wearable technologies, we’ve entered an age where our DNA can be edited, our microbiomes can be cultivated, and connected devices can be implanted in us, or attached to us, to repair or extend our ‘natural’ abilities. Eyeglasses have been around for 700 years, so this isn’t exactly ‘new’, but the era of digital transhumanity has just begun, and it is deeply entwined with mobile intelligence.
523 Inspiration: A basic question is whether we have any true grasp of what the limits of the human brain are, and of our ‘learnability’, and while we should be very cautious of exploring such limits, might not the grounded world of education be the safest place to start?
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This frontier is very important because it highlights how humans have always sought to extend our skills through tools—from stone axes to eyeglasses to digital implants. The difference now is that these tools are no longer just external; they can be integrated directly into our bodies and minds. This shift opens up possibilities for repairing disabilities, enhancing memory, or even expanding sensory perception, all of which have profound implications for learning. For educators, the challenge is not only technical but also ethical: how do we design classrooms and assessments when some learners may be enhanced in ways others are not? At the same time, education could be the safest and most responsible space to test these frontiers, offering controlled, research-driven environments where equity and inclusion remain central. By recognizing that tool use is a core part of human evolution, we can frame digital transhumanity as the next step in our ongoing pursuit to learn, adapt, and grow.
It certainly is the case that transhumanity will continue to rise. If advantage can be had through augmentation, the free-market will capitalize on this and produce products. At first with wealthier individuals, but eventually everyone will need these augmentations to stay ‘normal’. One example is Smartphones that everyone now has, but was once a costly investment when first released.
More to the point, augmentations that give insight into understand human learning and memory will become invaluable. Understanding human potential itself will require systematically identifying what enhances learning vs. raw intelligence as well as determining the physical-neurological connections between the two. And these mechanisms of actions are unlocked, I can only imagine a potentially massive transformative event for human potential.
I find the frontier of human enhancement through wearable and implantable technologies compelling because it represents both an inevitable and transformative shift in how we learn and live. While some applications feel futuristic or even sci-fi, I see them as an extension of our ongoing pursuit to further our species’ intelligence and capability. Wearables like smartwatches or brain-sensing headbands already provide insights into health, focus, and stress—critical factors for learning readiness—and hint at what’s possible as technology continues to evolve. I also recognize real challenges like privacy concerns and inequitable access, at least in early stages. Yet these obstacles underscore why it’s important for educators to engage with this frontier early, experimenting responsibly and shaping its integration. Personally, I’m drawn to this area because it aligns with a curiosity that human evolution seems to be on a trajectory of “no longer purely natural”—our tools and technologies have been actively shaping what we become.