Augmented humanity: the moral dilemmas of biohacking

Updated on: 15 November 2023

Neil C. Hughes
Contributor

Are billionaires pioneering life-altering technologies for all or creating a bioethical battleground with unforeseen consequences?

Please spare a thought for the billionaires, our modern-day Midases, who have it all only to see the sands of time slipping helplessly through their fingers. They've bought the cars, the planes, and even the rockets. The world might be their plaything, but mortality is the great leveler. But thanks to biohacking, it seems that age is facing a hostile takeover from those with more money than they could spend in a measly human lifespan.

They have coaches for every aspect of their lives – physical, mental, and, let's not forget, executive – because every existential crisis requires a C-suite. Thankfully, wearable tech such as Oura rings are literally on hand to make it possible to easily track things like sleep, exercise, heart rate, and body temperature, and even sense when they are stressed.

In the relentless pursuit of longevity, many embrace everything from cryotherapy to hyperbaric oxygen chambers, turning their biology into a personal sandbox of experimental whimsy. Pilates and yoga are just warm-ups; the real workout involves red light therapy and infrared saunas, and the cooldown is an ice bath with an ozone chaser. Throw on a power vest and a pair of shades, and you have the transformation of Jeff Bezos.

Biohacking offers myriad ways to uplift mental and physical well-being, from gut health enhancements through probiotics to stress management via mindfulness techniques. Beyond staving off illness, biohacking paves the way for tangible improvements in daily energy levels, cognitive understanding, physical performance, and emotional stability.

The celebs and sports stars embracing biohacking

In the realm of fame and physical prowess, celebrities and sports stars are not immune to the allure of biohacking. Take the seven Super Bowl-winning Tom Brady and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who openly admit to leveraging techniques to optimize digestion mental well-being and even reduce the risk of disease.

Man City football star Erling Haaland also embraces physical self-optimization by wearing special blue light-filtering glasses to filter out the blue light from smartphones, tablets, and televisions to improve his sleep. He is also meticulous about a diet rich in healthy fats. Elsewhere, tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is spending millions developing an algorithm to make him feel 18 again.

Despite technological advances, the eternal quest for longevity, self-preservation, and becoming the best we can be is as old as time. But could the rich and famous be on to something, or is this just a modern Icarus donning a jetpack?

The billion-dollar question of ethics and innovation

From one perspective, this incessant drive for bio-optimization does push the boundaries of science. It funnels money into areas of research that otherwise might go overlooked, and if people with more money than sense are willing to be human guinea pigs for new technologies that could be trickle-down health benefits for the rest of us mere mortals, what's the harm in that?

However, there's the question of ethics and accessibility. Just because an individual can afford a personalized genomic diet or has the connections for an experimental stem cell treatment doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Advances in neurotechnology are no longer limited to science fiction, and implanting microchips that alter brain processes to make the privileged few limitless could become a reality sooner than you might think.

We currently find ourselves at an intersection of aspiration and desperation of unprecedented possibilities and equally unparalleled ethical dilemmas. If we look beyond the vanity projects, there is a glimpse into a future where technology allows us to challenge the very limits of human biology. But in mindlessly rushing forward, life expectancy could become just another commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. That's the billion-dollar question.

The biohacking paradox: empowerment or endangerment?

Biohacking promises a compelling upgrade to human capabilities – be it rebooting sleep cycles, reprogramming gut microbiota, or enhancing cognitive function. However, the practice is not without its set of safety caveats. While basic tenets like optimizing diet, sleep, and stress management have robust scientific backing, the field also teems with experimental interventions, ranging from unregulated supplements to more invasive procedures, the safety profiles and long-term impacts of which are largely unknown.

Is it responsible to tinker with the complex machinery of the human body without a complete understanding of the potential repercussions? Additionally, one-size-fits-all biohacks do not exist, and there is a real danger of sleepwalking into creating unintended and even irreversible consequences.

If you look beyond the egomaniacs and the digital equivalent of a rich man's mid-life crisis, biohacking is another way to enhance our health and performance. But as we venture further into this brave new world of self-optimization, prudence, and scientific rigor, we must be the co-pilots on this journey, steering us away from the siren calls of quick fixes and unverified elixirs.

The emergence of new gadgets, such as neurohacking headphones using AI to track brain signals promising to detect when the wearer's focus is slipping, is just the beginning. But what happens when the data or the technology from these devices end up in the wrong hands? Looking further into the future, there is also an argument that individual productivity gains from the rich and powerful will give them a limitless style advantage over everyone else.

However, the inconvenient truth for biohackers is that a happy and fulfilling life is much more complex than taking a magic pill or buying a new gadget. Improving your diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management requires motivation, consistency, and a healthy dose of patience. Instead of listening to Bezos and co, I will follow Oscar Wilde's advice and enjoy everything in moderation, including moderation. Will you join me?