IS AUGMENTATION A HUMAN RIGHT?

In the shadow of some recent high-profile medical cases being battled in U.S. courts comes the increasingly relevant question: Do we own our bodies? If the answer is yes, then is that right of ownership inalienable to the point that we can augment it without limits? These core questions will be debated in a panel discussion featuring the top thinkers on both sides of the issue. Transhumanist philosopher Dr. Natasha Vita-More and augmentation pioneer and former U.S. Navy engineer Adam Arabian, along with Christian ethicist and moral philosopher E. Christian Brugger and Dr. Steve Mann, victim of the first cyborg hate crime, will delve into the morality and ethics of human augmentation. Their discussion will be a launchpad for the day’s conversations and the larger issues surrounding human rights and augmentation.