Deus Ex Machina

While the concept of cybernetic augmentation is very intriguing, I can’t help but thinking of the dangers. While it would be awesome to have a cybernetic arm, leg, eye, or even brain, the risks may not be worth the rewards. I recently finished playing through the new Deus Ex videogame. Set in 2027, a scientist cracks the human DNA code, which opens up the easy merging of cybernetics and biological tissue. The industry becomes the new Microsoft of its time, becoming the wealthiest company in the world. The company develops cybernetic limbs, eyes, brain chips, and even weapons, and makes them available to the paying, and wealthy, public. Problems shortly emerge; the primary reason being rejection of the cybernetic augmentations, the peoples’ bodies won’t naturally accept the augmentations, and all of those who choose to get augmented must take anti rejection medication for the rest of their lives. This medication is very expensive, and the need for this medication has driven most of the wealthy upper class into poverty and destitution. Anti Augmentation groups naturally emerge, claiming that we are destroying our own humanity through augmentation. In my opinion, they’re right. We reject our own humanity, and our individuality through augmentation. We lose what makes us human. Seeing as this is a new science, regulations have not been placed governing what they can and cannot do, so the company, Sarif Industries, is free to experiment with whatever augmentations they want. An anti augmentation terrorist group, Humanity First, also emerges. Throughout the game you hear of various bombings of augmentation factories and assassinations of leading augmentation scientists. When I finally finished the game, I was left with the impression that we are not ready for this technology, and I don’t know if we ever will be. From what I saw in the game, I’m hoping that I’m long dead before we develop yet another technology to destroy ourselves with.