Another “quick takes” on items where there is too little to say to make a complete article, but is still important enough to comment on.
The focus this time: Building a better catgirl through science and technology!
First, a little mood music:
Carrying on…
Cyborgs and and the silly belief in “transhumanism” is, according to some, “a new attempt at the age-old ploy to steal the human soul”.
“[Transhumanism is] a merging of human and machine, in other words, and while it sounds like dystopian fiction, the concept is entirely real, and it’s happening right now.
“We don’t have cyborgs yet, but given the fact that transhumanism has snaked its way into the reproductive world, which is booming today thanks to America’s fertility crisis, it’s likely only a matter of time before they walk among us.
“[One even] points to transhumanist companies that are currently manufacturing human eggs in a lab ‘without any input from a female ovary’ and then fertilizing them with either ‘real sperm or synthetic sperm, which can also be grown.’ In other words, pseudo-human beings are being created by machines in laboratories.
“Trying to stop this, she says, is ‘impossible’ — as is halting the development of organoids or the implantation of brain chips.”
This is good news if the technology is used to create genetically engineered cyborg catgirls for domestic adoption.
One important bit of technology towards the end that is catgirls and other kemonomimi is the development of brain-computer interfaces.
“A high-stakes technology race is playing out in the human brain.
“Brain-computer interfaces are already letting people with paralysis control computers and communicate their needs, and will soon enable them to manipulate prosthetic limbs without moving a muscle.
“The year ahead is pivotal for the companies behind this technology.
“Fewer than 100 people to date have had brain-computer interfaces permanently installed. In the next 12 months, that number will more than double, provided the companies with new FDA experimental-use approval meet their goals in clinical trials. Apple this week announced its intention to allow these implants to control iPhones and other products.
“There are dozens of so-called ‘neurotech’ startups. Four lead the field of implants: Paradromics, Synchron, Precision Neuroscience and Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which in some ways is the most ambitious of the four. All but Paradromics have reached the point at which they are putting tech inside people’s heads. Each has its own approach, and all offer reasons they believe their product will come out ahead.”
Now, when your cyborg catgirl gets a muscle owie, they’ll end up fine, needing only love, attention, and headpats.
“A University of Nebraska–Lincoln engineering team is another step closer to developing soft robotics and wearable systems that mimic the ability of human and plant skin to detect and self-heal injuries.
“Engineer Eric Markvicka, along with graduate students Ethan Krings and Patrick McManigal, recently presented a paper at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Atlanta, Georgia, that sets forth a systems-level approach for a soft robotics technology that can identify damage from a puncture or extreme pressure, pinpoint its location and autonomously initiate self-repair.
“…
“[The] team developed an intelligent, self-healing artificial muscle featuring a multi-layer architecture that enables the system to identify and locate damage, then initiate a self-repair mechanism—all without external intervention.
“‘The human body and animals are amazing. We can get cut and bruised and get some pretty serious injuries. And in most cases, with very limited external applications of bandages and medications, we’re able to self-heal a lot of things,’ Markvicka said. ‘If we could replicate that within synthetic systems, that would really transform the field and how we think about electronics and machines.’”
TTFN.
