I would definitely consider the Bebionic3 prosthetic arm to be closer to a “thriving” need than a “getting by” need, seeing as how it’s capable of using its sensors to detect muscle control, thus providing a much more relaxed and controlling feel for the patient. But then it still doesn’t provide the actual sensation of touch. With enough practice, Mr. Ackland’s been able to determine how hard to squeeze or pinch for certain tasks, but he doesn’t actually feel the objects he touches, unfortunately.

But things are about to change for the prosthetic world. Last year, Ohio-based amputee Melissa Loomis worked with DARPA and Johns Hopkins University under their co-project Modular Prosthetic Limb to revolutionize prosthetic limbs. Not only was she able to control a robotic arm using her mind alone — a result of the growing field of neuroprosthetics — with over 100 contact and temperature sensors connected to the arm, and electrodes attached to each of her nerve endings, Melissa is now “able to feel sensation and temperature feedback through each individual digit.”

As we move even closer to the world of “sci-fi,” biohacker company Grindhouse Wetware are known for their enhancements of touch, among other really cool enhancements. In particular, they’re in the business of popularizing finger magnet implants. What these implants do is allow people to feel the shape of electromagnetic current that surrounds them — a sixth sense, per se.

Sound

As already mentioned, one of my favorite examples of a “thriving” need would be Neil Harbisson’s eyeborg, which allows him to literally hear sounds. But then this enhancement was done so to balance out his visual impairment, not any cochlear impairment.

According to the WHO, an estimated 360 million people suffer from hearing loss worldwide. The sensation of hearing sound is one we all take for granted like every other sensory ability we attain. Ironically, it usually takes those who’re already severely limited in sight to fully grasp the complexities and intricacies of sound.

Before, when someone was losing their ability to hear, they’d be provided with low-standard hearing aids. This was commonly seen throughout the older population. I remember my great-grandfather Jasper back in Bluefield, VA, would have to mess around with his hearing aid profusely in order to fully hear me as we played checkers every morning during the summer.

These hearing aids were most definitely “getting by” needs. They didn’t work very well, but they worked well enough to get by. Even then, if someone completely lost their sense of sound, there was nothing else that could be done. They were officially declared deaf until death.

Today, however, low-standard hearing aids have been replaced with cochlear implants which work quite sufficiently for many cases. Most cochlear implants can be easily pointed out — a black transmitter which rests behind the ear on the side of the head, the speech processor and microphone which wraps around the ear, and then both the receiver and electrode array which are surgically inserted.

What’s even more impressive, however, are the implants that are allowing people who’ve been deaf since birth to finally hear sounds for the very first time. A clear example of this being the esteem implant, designed by Envoy Medical Corporation, which is not only completely invisible unlike every other cochlear implant, but it attaches itself to your natural anatomy, providing 24/7 hearing without the background noise and distortions most hearing aids today suffer from. As a result of this remarkable implant, a 29-year-old woman who was deaf since birth cried tears of joy when her esteem implant allowed her to hear someone’s voice for the first time in her life.

Imagine that, to be able to achieve a sensory ability you knew nothing about from the day you were born, enhancing your perceptual understanding of the world around you!

It reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from the sci-fi TV show Battlestar Galactica, a conversation between Cylon cyborgs John Cavil and Ellen Tigh.

John Cavil: “And do you know how I perceived one of the most glorious events in the universe [a supernova]? With these ridiculous gelatinous orbs in my skull. With eyes designed to perceive only a tiny fraction of the EM spectrum. With ears designed only to hear vibrations in the air.” Ellen Tigh: “The five of us designed you to be as human as possible.” Cavil: “I don’t want to be human! I want to see gamma rays. I want to hear x-rays. And I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly because I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language. But I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I could know much more. I could experience so much more, but I’m trapped in this absurd body!”

I’m with you, Cavil! All these “getting by” devices merely limit the already-limited human bodies we’ve grown accustomed to. Cochlear implants, like the esteem implant, are certainly much more than a “getting by” need, but it also forces you to acquire only what was taken from you.

This is why I deeply respect biohacker Rich Lee who became known throughout biohacker and Transhumanist circles as being the guy who designed his own implant, allowing him to hear digital music and other sounds wirelessly, all without any headphones, just a coil necklace. Pretty cool, right?

In my opinion, as is the opinion of every other Transhumanist I’d argue, we desire to thrive by transcending our own biological limitations. We desire “thriving” needs; not “getting by” needs.

And they should be designated as needs rather than mere wants, especially for the disabled! We should never strive to limit peoples’ capabilities, nor should we feel that it’s sufficient enough to re-acquire what was originally taken and then call it a “job well done.”

No. Under Transhumanist law, there’d be the necessity of looking out for everyone’s best interests, which includes their overall health. Today, we Transhumanists should strive to ensure that the disabled are not only taken care of but are first in line to becoming post-human. In my mind, the answer to the question, “Will today’s disabled become tomorrow’s post-human?,” is a resounding ‘Yes!’

The moral of the story here I believe is clear: We should look out and care for the disabled; not make fun of them nor neglect them from the rest of society, for it is they who’ll be the first to become post-human. By that time, who do you think will be considered disabled then?

As the old saying goes, “What goes around comes around.”