For another interesting, if horrifying, take on this issue, look up Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt.

To answer the actual question, I voted "My body, my right. (Keep 'em out of sports)" on the poll. The rationale is essentially the same one we have against doping right now, as far as sports. Anybody who's interested can look up the controversy with the Blade Runner in the Olympics. The future is now.

My body, my right. (Keep 'em out of sports) (except don't) (seriously just have an aug sports league and watch someone dunk a basketball from the middle of a 100-yard court, it would be fuckin ill) (like can you imagine augmented football, it would be almost as fun to watch as a real sport)

I tend to think of things like this as how bad would it get once abused because human beings are garbage scum fucks, so nothing for anyone unless they've experienced some catastrophic illness or accident. Of course then once the proof of concept exists, it'll be pushed to the point of total self-destruction and we're all dead.

@the_nubster: Yep that's more or less the point of sports; the more ridiculous the feat the better.

Aside from AI that conflicts with your brain I don't have any issue with augmentation.

I love Human Revolution and Deus Ex in general. I think you should be able to augment yourself, especially when it comes to a job that needs doing or if you've lost a limb somehow. I think the way Deus Ex does it is a bit ridiculous, but it could happen I guess. I don't think rights between non-augmented and augmented should be any different, that'd be awkward, though I do think it'd be unfair if in sports you allowed augmented people to play with non-augmented because it is clearly unfair as augments are there to enhance you. While I love the idea of being able to live forever or extending life, I don't like the idea of removing what makes us human altogether from a physical point of view, which can happen over the process of augmenting upon augmenting. I don't care if others do it, I'm just saying I wouldn't go that far.

I am more into the idea of something you put onto your body like an Exo suit that'll help you instead of outright changing a part of your body, or putting something inside of you, but we know that'll happen. We already see it today, where something as small as having a microchip implanted in the hand, and while I wouldn't go so far to call it an augment, some people that lose feet or arms can get prosthetics. Something I will say as well is that Human Revolution doesn't only show you augmented people and that topic, but it also shows you an issue we're having today which seems like it comes up now more than ever as a point of discussion, which is what is real, and what is fake media. I loved how that seemed like such a small part, just a part that fleshes out the cyberpunk atmosphere, and then you come upon Eliza Cassan in the news station.

That all said about augmentation though, I can see it getting a bit iffy if jobs start, perhaps not requiring it, but want you to get them, so people that refuse to get augmented have a harder time finding a job, therefore have a hard time making a living which would be really unfortunate. I think a lot of humans like staying in the work force and don't enjoy watching technology (like robotics) take everything away so maybe they'd feel that augments are the way to balance it out. Hell, I'd love if robotics did everything, and then we just live in a Star Trek world where money to live is not a factor. Then again, if they do everything, humans lose the know-how, and that's not good either. That's another thing tech takes away, unfortunately.

I want to say that I'm all for just doing whatever you want to your own body provided you have the money, but in this case... I dunno. What about people who can't afford such augmentations? What if some kind of brain augmentation comes out that allows you to think faster or move stuff from short-term to long-term memory much easier or something like that? Wouldn't that just make it that much harder for the poor to move up in society? That's a bigger topic than I have the time or knowledge to discuss, but it's something worth bringing up.

There should also be restrictions on how strong a robotic arm can be or something. I shouldn't be able to get myself outfitted with a prosthetic that can crush a man's skull. You could say that some jobs require that, but most jobs that require such strength already have better methods of doing things.

As for whether I would get such a prosthetic - I don't know? I certainly wouldn't get it if we lived in a Deus Ex HR-like world where everyone with an augment needs to take some kind of drug for the rest of their lives. But then, I also remember being around thirteen and thinking that scene where Edward Elric revealed his metal arm was fucking cool and for the longest time I really wanted a crazy metal arm. The reality is that most prosthetics aren't going to look that cool - if they ever get advanced enough to function as well as or better than a real arm, then they'll probably also be advanced enough to look as much like a real arm as possible.

I think it would be better - and more fair - if we focused more on cloning replacement body parts for humans. Lost your arm? We'll clone you a new one! Also, need a lung transplant? Can clone a new one! Going blind? New eyes! I don't really know how feasible this is, though.

I look forward to our future sport of kings, Cybernetic Lawn Dart Wrasslin'.

I didn't ask for this. Damn the consequences, I want an aug that makes me able to take maximum advantage of all-you-can-eat buffets. I want restaurateurs to speak of me in hushed tones.

If I can't have that, I just want a Watch_Dogs style one-button hacking device.

Where's the, "I want sick designer aug arms." option?

I'm on the "my body, my right" side but I think it should be regulated, functioning under specific laws and restrictions. Like something in-between getting a surgery or a gun.

And allow them on sports. Sports are boring, make them more ridiculous so they can be entertaining. I want to watch the Olympics turn into an Eurovision-style crazy flamboyant competition between augmented humans.

As long as you don't just give everyone murder-knife arms, then I don't really care. Cyborg sports might actually make me watch sports, if they go 100% over the top with it. Like that 17776 story a few weeks back. Just jumping in a fucking tornado while playing cross-state football to give a metaphorical middle finger to the opposing tacklers is sick as hell.

As it develops I feel like there has to be severe restrictions until it is a possibility for everybody. What will end up happening otherwise is we create another class of human, that is better/worse than everyone else. Not just viewed better or worse but actually better. We don't even have equality across humans yet, we can't be giving superhuman advantages to select people.

It is our collective evolution, not for the few.

I have no issue with it. Doing it sounds kind of shortsighted, when we have used artificial augmentations to our bodies for centuries (that is what glasses or artificial skin and hearts are)

I would keep it away from competitive sports, though, because I feel it goes against the idea of it. It turns a "mark of personal excellence on some skill" into "a mark of pride for whatever country/company is able to afford most of the nice stuff". I would not oppose a league of their own were teams can go as over the top as money can buy.

My eyes are shit. I would buy new eyes. But, there is the cost of neuropozyne to consider if we're talking about just the Adam Jensen era of Deus Ex since I imagine that augmentation rejection would be a thing.

As for sports, augmentations would just be a new form of steroids. I think the best way to handle that is to restrict augmented athletes from using their super speed, strength and reflexes in games so the games are fair and no one is excluded. I wouldn't want to have a another MLB versus Negro league situation again.

I chose A. We could delay it, but not control/ regulate it forever.

Sad how that's already happening in professional sports (football/soccer at least) as teams are being bought by corporations and even countries and are able to afford most of the nice stuff players. (The PSG/ Neymar thing)

Yeah it's fine. I wouldn't go on about it being our destiny though. Unless you're talking about all forms of human tinkering, and not just merging man with machine in a rather crude fashion.

Yeah I'm with you, I'm fine with it, but I don't look at it as our destiny, it's just something that if we as a species are capable of doing, I think it's fine to do so.
But I don't look at it as some grand thing where one day all our minds shall be one as we meld with the maaachiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!
It's just cool technology advances all the time, and if you can use it (without harming others) go for it.

Obviously Deus Ex is far ahead in the future though, we still get impressed when someone can lift a pencil with prosthetic arm or run on prosthetic legs. I know there have been things done more advances then that obviously, but it is far and few between.

I picked A. Not really into sports so I dont care about that. If I had to buy drugs to keep my body from rejecting the implants I wouldnt do it though.

I already see humans as biological machines, so it's really no big deal to me. I also don't subscribe to the idea of drawing lines in our exploration of what is possible to achieve in any area of human creativity. Barriers are made to be broken. But also, what is the difference between wearing glasses and getting prosthetic enhanced eyeballs? In both instances you're using some form of object to enhance your vision. Or you get lasek and that's a machine fixing your existing eyeball. In all instances, your biology does nothing and technology does everything.

I am for it, with a caveat. Certain modifications/augmentations is regulated (i.e augs with offensive capability, much like the current gun regulations). Other than that, go crazy.

On one hand I would be fine with it.

On the other hand I know how people are, and it would need to be regulated. No children unless medically necessary. No 'super strength' or dangerous implementations, even for police officers. I can see the police officers being a political issue. Just look at the camera problems. No businesses forcing upgrades at steep prices, unlocks with steep prices, subscription services. Government regulation would have to be independent and heavily overlooked by professionals without political or business liabilities (that will be hard). Limited patents for life saving technology.

And so on... and so on...

Basically it's going to be a nightmare of politics, business, religion, and all kinds of other factors. Should be interesting to watch play out, if nothing else.

@armaan8014 said:

Buying good players is not the same thing as buying your players an edge over other players. And, in any case, Neymar was part of Barcelona, which is the least suited team to complain about the competition outspending to get an edge on their league.

I don’t think it is our “destiny” but people have a right to augment themselves, same as they do to speak their minds and carry guns, and rot their brain with a substance. I’m curious to see how advanced it will become in my lifetime. Will I live to see the day when Seals become Spartans?

Anyway, down with government regulations, if we get to have abortions we get to have whatever kind of augmentation, including offensive ones (CCLs exist for a reason, and for the foreseeable future a gun arm is no more concealable than my appendix carry glock.

I chose "my body, my right" but with serious caveats. There needs to be more nuisance here. Like I don't want people looking at me with xray and thermal vision eyes. Any augmentation that has the potential to violate someone's privacy or cause potential harm to someone else should be regulated.

The older I get the more appealing robot legs seem.

Plus the possibilities of brain augmentation are endless. Just think about people with Alzheimer's or mental retardation. There would be a chance for them to return or obtain a normal life.

Physical augmentations would be unnecessary for most people in our current culture - anything requiring physical strength or precision can be done with robots. Neural computing, on the other hand, seems like the clearest way to avoid the AI apocalypse

I think when it comes to stuff like sports there's value in running distinct "organics" and "cyborgs" leagues, but ostensibly I have no issue with people getting augs of some sort. My only serious concern is that it would quickly become a haves/have nots thing based on who can actually afford that stuff (I haven't played the recent DE games but I believe they tackle some of this directly).

Putting aside the actual logistics of financing/accessibility or what mischief people might try to cause given access to that stuff and looking at it from a purely "is it morally okay to do" perspective? Yo, go do some dope shit to your body if that's what you want to do.

I think I can get behind this specific regulation. What might "cause potential harm" is a tougher boundary to judge, but stuff that can invade the privacy of others should probably not be freely available. You wanna be stronger or faster (or simply functional, if you currently have a disability that can be solved by augmentations)? Go right ahead.

I want my Jax arms and nobody is gonna stop me. Now I just need to eat fewer cheese burgers and try to make it there.

I look at it as a fatalist and see that, while augmentations can help people, they may also disrupt or completely break just about every notion we have of any established system, boundary, security, privacy, etc, etc.

But hey; your body your choice... I guess? I doubt any jurisdiction or legislation will be ever put in place quick enough or with enough foresight to ever get ahead of where the technology will take us. Kinda worrying, if you think about it too much.