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Prepare now for a society of ‘designer humans’

Better Humans? The politics of enhancement and life extension argues that policy makers and the public must address the consequences of technologies to enhance the human mind and body, including memory-enhancing drugs, genetic selection of children, and dramatic increases in life expectancy.

These technologies have radical policy implications, such as the potential for widespread use of memory enhancing drugs in schools and universities, and the need for dramatic increases in the state retirement age.

“From smart pills and gene therapy, to nanotechnology and cybernetics, we’re facing a new set of technological possibilities for enhancing the human mind and body”, say Paul Miller and James Wilsdon, editors of Better Humans?  “These different types of enhancement - surgical, chemical, robotic and genetic – have profound implications for the future of education, healthcare and ageing.”

“The recent debate about pension reform shows how difficult it is for politicians to grapple with long-term changes to human health and life expectancy. If scientists’ predictions about human enhancement are correct, we need to become much better at debating the consequences of new technologies.”

Demos argues that recent developments in a number of areas of science and technology could lead to radical changes in the human condition. They note that:

• Smart pills to enhance concentration and memory are now available, with research on other brain-altering drugs underway;
• Gene therapy technologies to alter the genetic make-up of selected cells are already advanced;
• Genetic selection, enabling embryos to be selected for particular genetic traits, is already available for several dozen illnesses;
• Research on cybernetics, altering the mental and physical abilities of humans by embedding engineering or electronic systems within the body, is being actively pursued in the UK and elsewhere;
• Radical life extension, pushing lifespans to 150 years or more, may be possible within the next 30 years.

The authors make a number of policy proposals to respond to the emergence of human enhancement and life extension technologies. These include:

• The establishment of a Schools and Universities Anti-Doping Agency, modelled on the World Anti-Doping Agency, to keep our education system free from enhancement drugs.
• The need for government to consider a retirement age ‘escalator’ much steeper than that envisaged by Lord Turner’s Pensions Commission , with the potential for a state retirement age of 80 or even 90 within our lifetime.
• The establishment of a Commission on Emerging Technologies and Society, to actively engage the public in a wider debate about the political, social and ethical issues raised by new technologies.

The collection brings together contributions from scientists, social scientists and writers who explore these developments and their social implications. Contributions include:

• Steven Rose, the prominent neuroscientist, on the use of brain-imaging and artificial intelligence in the ‘war of terror’;
• An interview with Aubrey de Grey, the Cambridge scientist, who believes that first person to reach 1000 years old may already be alive;
• Raj Persaud, the   psychiatrist and television commentator, on why enhancement won’t necessarily make us happier;
• Nick Bostrom, the Oxford philosopher and chair of the World Transhumanist Association, who argues that within 50 years, machine intelligence will surpass the human brain;
• Sarah Franklin, anthropologist at the London School of Economics, on the political and ethical debate surrounding ‘designer babies’.

These issues will also be debated at a major international conference on human enhancement and life extension, being held at Oxford University from 14-17 March 2006.

Notes to editors

1. Better Humans? The politics of enhancement and life extension, edited by Paul Miller and James Wilsdon, is published by Demos and the Wellcome Trust on 8^th February 2006.   Copies can be downloaded from www.demos.co.uk/publications/betterhumanscollection or ordered from Central Books on 020 8986 5488.
2. Better Humans? will be launched on Wednesday 8^th February, 6-8 pm. The launch event will take place at the Wellcome Trust, 215 Euston Road, London. Please register for the event by emailing science@demos.co.uk
3. Paul Miller is a Demos Associate. Dr James Wilsdon is Head of Science and Innovation at Demos.
4. Demos is the think tank for everyday democracy. It has a long-running interest in public engagement in science policy making.
5. The Wellcome Trustis an independent research-funding charity established in 1936 under the will of tropical medicine pioneer Sir Henry Wellcome. The Trust’s mission is to promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health and it currently spends more than £400m per annum.
6. An international conference on human enhancement is taking place at Oxford University from 14-17 March 2006. Organised by the James Martin Institute, the conference will bring together scientists, ethicists and policymakers to explore the implications of these developments. For details, see http://www.martininstitute.ox.ac.uk/jmi/forum2006/