The new research, conducted by the security firm Kaspersky, has revealed the inequality of coexistence with "augmented people" that symbolize the next step of humanity in the family environment, workplace and even personal life.
About half of European adults (46,5%) believe that people should be free to develop their own body with technology. However, many say they are concerned about the long-term societal impact of such technologies. The development can take two forms: enhancements for health-related reasons such as the use of bionic limbs, or optional initiatives such as implanting RFID chips in the body.
Only 12% of those surveyed oppose working with people who apply human empowerment because they feel they will gain an unfair advantage in the workplace. However, almost two in five adults (39%) worry that human empowerment could lead to future social inequality or conflict. Overall, nearly half (49%) of respondents say they are "excited" or "optimistic" about the future society that includes both empowered and non-empowered people.
According to Kaspersky's research, more than half (51%) of those surveyed say they met someone empowered in this way. When it comes to personal life, almost half of the respondents (45%) say that dating someone like this wouldn't be a problem for them, and 5,5% said they had dated someone before.
More than a third of respondents state that they "always accept" increased people, while 17% say they are "ready to accept more" compared to a decade ago. Half of European men (50%) and 40% of women say they are "excited" or "optimistic" about the future shared by both normal and "empowered" people.
If a family member needs enhancement technologies for health reasons, respondents prefer it to be a bionic arm (38%) or leg (37%). About one-third (29,5%) of the respondents declared that they will support the family member who decides to develop themselves in this way, regardless of their preferences. While only 16,5% of the survey respondents see this approach as “weird”, nearly a quarter (24%) call it “bold”.
Just over a quarter of respondents (27%) believe that increased individuals should have exclusive representation at the government level, compared to 41% of those who oppose this idea. The results were announced following an online session with leading experts as part of the Kaspersky NEXT 2021 event.
Marco Preuss, Director of the Kaspersky Europe Global Research and Analysis Team, commented: “While we have received broad support and interest in human empowerment across Europe, there are understandable concerns about the impact of human empowerment on society. Governments, industry leaders and augmented people must come together to help shape the future of human empowerment together. So we can ensure that this exciting industry develops in an orderly manner and safely for all. ”
Hannes Sapiens Sjöblad, Managing Director and Founding Partner of DSruptive Subdermals, added: “Human enhancement technology should not be considered as high-quality, high-tech solutions that appeal to headlights and the privileged segment. It should be affordable and accessible to everyone, everyone should be able to benefit from this concept. "
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